Columbi Salmon, which plans to build a large-scale, vertically-integrated, land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) in Oostende, Belgium, is planning to launch an initial public offering toward the end of 2022 or early in 2023.
The company’s plans for an IPO were revealed by its chief financial officer, Kolbjorn Giskeodegard, at the North Atlantic Seafood Forum in Bergen, Norway in June 2022. The money raised will fund the first phase of development of the project, which has an intended production capacity of up to 15,000 metric tons (MT) of salmon and 4,000 MT of vegetables by 2023-2024, grown in an integrated aquaponic system.
Columbi Salmon has secured a 16-hectare plot in Oostende's science park and begun the permitting process to bulid and operate the facility. It said it expects to receive its building permit in early Q4 2022, which would enable the company to start work on the site before the end of 2022. The farm will use solar panels as an energy source and turn any waste into biogas.
The company awarded the design-and-build contract in 2020 to Billund Aquaculture, which has extensive experience of RAS facilities. The company has raised EUR 50 million (USD 52 million) to fund the RAS project.
The Refsnes family, veterans of the Norwegian salmon industry, are the main owners of the company, with a 43 percent share, after participating in Columbi's NOK 162 million (USD 18.7 million EUR 15.6 million) fundraiser in Q3, 2021, in which Ferd and Kverna Finans also participated.
Columbi Salmon’s stated ambition is to become Europe’s leading onshore sustainable salmon farming company. Local production and supply is a key part of the company’s strategy, which saves on air freight and enables consumers to eat a fresh product, it said.
Image courtesy of Columbi Salmon
