The Kingfish Company has secured a EUR 75 million (USD 81 million) loan to help it continue to build its land-based yellowtail kingfish farm in Kats, the Netherlands.
The five-year, bilateral debt facility from P Capital Partners AB will be linked to environmental, social, and governance deliverables, with an interest rate linked to the company’s performance relative to agreed-upon ESG targets.
“Following constructive dialogues with banks and financial investors and several potential financing indications, we are pleased to partner with PCP to fund our ongoing growth in Europe,” Kingfish Company CEO Ohad Maiman said in a press release. “PCP is a strong financial partner, highly knowledgeable in the aquaculture sector, and their funding is a testament to our solid operational delivery.”
The company is in the process of expanding production in its Dutch facility from its current capacity of 1,500 MT annually to 3,500 MT by the second half of 2022, thanks in part to a EUR 10 million (USD 10.8 million) bridge facility provided by Rabobank, which it announced in January 2022. The Kats facility uses sea water and 100 percent of its energy is drawn from renewable sources, and the company has contributed to refraining from using antibiotics or vaccines.
Half of the money will be used to repay existing debt, finance remaining capital expenditures related to the ongoing expansion project at the company’s recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) farm in Kats, and to fund working capital, according to the release. The remaining EUR 37.5 million (USD 40.5 million) will be used to aid in financing the cost for a future “phase three” expansion of the Kats facility.
“With funding secured to reach 3,500 tons annual capacity in The Netherlands, we are now funded to reach group-level profitability, placing us in a comfortable position to optimize growth capital for further buildout in the U.S. and the E.U. and continue to deliver on our expansion plan,” Maiman said.
Maiman told SeafoodSource in March 2022 that permitting for the company’s 8,500-MT-capacity RAS farm in Jonesport, Maine, U.S.A. “is progressing as planned.”
Stockholm, Sweden-based P Capital Partners, with combined assets of EUR 2.5 billion (USD 2.7 billion), provides strategic funding European companies in need of capital for expansion, acquisition financing, and refinancing.
”PCP has been active in funding the sustainability transition of the economy for years. On-land aquaculture will play a key role in sustainable protein production globally. We are excited to be partnering with an industry leader such as The Kingfish Company," P Capital Partners CEO Daniel Sachs said.
Arctic Securities AS acted as financial advisor and broker in conjunction with the issuance of the debt facility.
Photo courtesy of The Kingfish Company
