Trondheim, Norway-based Norcod has successfully completed a private placement of NOK 250 million (USD 27.1 million, EUR 22.9 million) on the Merkur Market of the Oslo Stock Exchange earlier this month. This market offers companies one of the fastest admission processes in Europe, and enabled the first day of trading to take place on 15 October, 2020.
The deal saw the allocation of five million new shares in Norcod, priced at NOK 50.00 (USD 5.41, EUR 4.57) each. Following the placement, Norcod has 17 million shares outstanding.
The private placement attracted very strong interest from both Norwegian and international investors, and was many times oversubscribed, according to the company. Existing shareholders were significantly represented in the deal, and alongside selected new investors, pre-committed to an allocation of shares worth NOK 180 million (USD 19.5 million EUR 16.4 million).
Commitments by investors already represented on the board of directors included Artha Norcod for NOK 113 million (USD 12.2 million, EUR 10.3 million), Codinvest Aps for NOK 15 million (1.6 million, EUR 1.4 million), Ronja Capital for NOK 10 million (USD 1.1 million, EUR 915,000), and CRH Holding for NOK 3 million (USD 325,000, EUR 274,000).
ABG Sundal Collier ASA and SpareBank 1 Markets acted as joint global coordinators and bookrunners for the placement.
The additional funds will be used to improve operational infrastructure, secure access to cod fry, and build capacity at Norcod’s facilities. This, in turn, will support the significant growth in production anticipated by the company.
Set up just two years ago, Norcod operates two facilities in central Norway, where fish are farmed in sea pens. It holds nine licenses for a total volume of 6,700 metric tons (MT) maximum allowable biomass (MAB) and applications have been submitted for a further three locations. This is in line with Norcod’s roadmap to reach a capacity of 25,000 MT MAB in 2025.
An early joint venture with cod fry producer Havlandet Havbruk has secured the initial stage of the production process, and enable Norcod to stock more than 1.8 million cod in 2020. The largest of these fish now weigh more than 2 kilograms, enabling the company to predict a first harvest in Q2 of 2021.
Photo courtesy of Norcod
