Less than two weeks after completing the first smolt release at its land-based, hybrid flow-through salmon farm at Indre Harøy in Norway, Salmon Evolution announced a successful private placement to raise NOK 300 million (USD 34 million, EUR 31 million).
A total of 33,333,333 new shares were offered at a subscription price of NOK 9.00 (USD 1.02, EUR 0.94) per share, with ABG Sundal Collier, DNB Markets, Nordea Bank, and Pareto Securities acting as joint bookrunners.
The deal attracted Norwegian, Nordic and international investors and was significantly oversubscribed, according to a stock exchange release. Allocation of the new shares is expected to be ratified at an extraordinary general meeting. The new funds will be used to help fund the second phase of the Indre Harøy fish farm and expand capacity at the Kraft Laks smolt facility, as well as for general corporate purposes, the company said.
In Februay 2022, the company entered into a heads of terms agreement with Artec Aqua, the turnkey supplier for the project's first phase, to start planning the second phase of the project. It said that no decision has yet been made on a start date.
Phase two of the project has a projected completion date of Q4 2022 and is expected to increase the farm’s annual production capacity by 7,900 metric tons (MT) of head-on gutted (HOG) salmon. Total planned production of the two phases combined is 15,800 MT HOG per year.
“Phase two will stand on the shoulders of a successful phase one ramp-up and together with Artec Aqua we expect to realize significant efficiency gains, while at the same time being able to continue optimizing the facility,” Salmon Evolution CEO Håkon André Berg said.
Salmon Evolution has also entered into a joint venture with Dongwon Industries to develop, construct, and operate a land-based salmon farming facility in South Korea, with an annual production capacity of 16,800 MT HOG.
Across the three projects, the company plans for an annual production of around 31,500 MT HOG salmon.
Photo courtesy of Salmon Evolution
