Johan E. Andreassen has vacated his position as managing director of Atlantic Sapphire AS, but will remain chairman of the board, in readiness for the company’s listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange – the Oslo Børs – the land-based salmon farming company has announced.
In a public notification, the Miami, Florida, U.S.A.-headquartered company stated that the managing director position has been filled by Karl Øystein Øyehaug, who has been with the business since 2018 in the position of finance director at Atlantic Sapphire USA LLC. Øyehaug will also continue in his role as finance director of the U.S. subsidiary.
At the same time, Andreassen will continue to hold the position as CEO of Atlantic Sapphire USA LLC, which is the group’s main operating company.
As necessitated by the Oslo Børs requirement that Norwegian companies listed on the exchange be public limited liability companies, Atlantic Sapphire will hold an extraordinary general meeting on 16 April in Miami to convert to an LLC. In addition, the company will change the composition of its board of directors, establish a nomination committee, amend certain provisions in its articles of association, and grant an authorization to the board of directors to raise convertible debt.
The board of directors is proposing that Tone Bjørnov and Ellen Marie Sætre are elected as new board members, and that Bjørn-Vegard Løvik and Peter Skou resign their positions.
In March, the company signed a committed term sheet with Norwegian bank DNB for USD 210 million (EUR 193.1 million) for refinancing and the establishment of a new credit facility. The new Oslo Børs notification states that DNB has requested that the board be authorized to issue convertible bonds for an amount of up to USD 150 million (EUR 137.9 million), and that this is a condition precedent for borrowing under the new, improved facility and a covenant throughout the life of the facility.
It added that the actual issuance of a convertible bond and its terms shall be determined by the board and will be one of several tools to optimize the company's capital structure.
These changes are subject to approval by the shareholders and the listing application being approved by the Oslo Stock Exchange, and will take effect at the time of conversion to a public limited liability company.
Andreassen said a listing on the main list of the Oslo Stock Exchange is another positive step for the company.
“We are confident that the changes we are making will provide maximum continuity and competence in the board and management of Atlantic Sapphire. This is in line with feedback from the board and key shareholders of maintaining my strategic and operational role delivering performance in the U.S. and Denmark,” he said. “We’re proud to start harvesting American-produced, healthy, and sustainable salmon in the third quarter of 2020, eliminating air freight of a protein that is today primarily imported into the U.S. from other continents.”
Upon completing construction of the US Phase 1 facility later this year, Atlantic Sapphire expects an annual output of 10,000 metric tons (HOG) salmon. It has secured U.S. water permits to produce up to 90,000 MT of salmon onsite annually.
The company has also been operating its R&D innovation center in Langsand, Denmark, since 2011. The aim of this facility is to establish the technology and procedures that will enable the company to commercially scale up production in end markets close to consumers.
Photo courtesy of Atlantic Sapphire
