Gigante Salmon, which has plans to build a land-based salmon farm on the island in Indre Rosøya, Rødøy, Norway, listed on the Euronext Growth market on 5 July.
The listing followed a private placement at the end of June, which raised NOK 222 million (USD 26 million, EUR 21.5 million) for 40,363,637 shares at NOK 5.50 (USD 0.63, EUR 0.53) each. The private placement was highly oversubscribed, having attracted strong interest from institutional investors and family offices, leading Gigante Salmon to upscale its initial public offering from an initial NOK 192 million (USD 23 million, EUR 18.6 million).
“Now we have so many shareholders, that I will no longer be able to give each and every one a call to thank them personally,” Gigante Salmon Interim CEO Kjell Lorentsen said in a press release. “It is good to see that the market believes in us and that so many want to take part in our vision. We look forward to rolling up our sleeves, starting construction our new site, and turning our plans into action.”
Gigante Salmon is owned by Gigante Havbruk Group, which was founded by Lorentsen in 1988. The company owns seven salmon licenses and has cooperation agreements on a further four. When the Norwegian government eased licensing requirements for land-based farms five years ago, the Gigante Havbruk Group set up Gigante Salmon, then spent more than five years seeking an adequate site for the planned farm. It received a license for its Indre Rosøya farm in 2020.
Construction on the project is scheduled to begin in August, with smolts to be introduced in 2023, and the first harvest expected in the second half of 2024.
The facility will have three sunken pools for the fish, with five raceways in each and a flowthrough system. Total production capacity is 16,000 MT, which should be reached by 2027. Production will feed into Gigante Havbruk group’s existing fully integrated value chain, according to the company.
Gigante Salmon estimated its capital expenditure costs at NOK 24.00 (USD 2.75, EUR 2.32) per kilogram of head-on gutted salmon when in full production, with production costs estimated at NOK 31.00 (USD 3.55, EUR 3.00) per kilogram HOG.
Market analysis undertaken by Kontali for Gigante Salmon shows significant growth potential for Atlantic salmon in most global markets, according to a company presentation. But with ongoing biological and regulatory constraints limiting capacity of existing salmon farming, new production methods “urgently needed,” according to the Kontali analysis.
“Gigante Salmon is well-placed to take advantage of the current trend for land-based aquaculture,” it said.
Image courtesy of Gigante Salmon
