Norway Royal Salmon ASA (NRS) has entered into an agreement to sell its farming operations in southern Norway to three buyers for a total NOK 1.24 billion (USD 136.6 million, EUR 125 million).
The deal, which was announced in a stock exchange filing, will see Tombre Fiskeanlegg AS, Lingalaks AS and Eidesvik Laks AS purchase all of the shares in Sør Farming AS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NRS and (subject to a demerger) the owner of NRS Farming AS's salmon farming business known as "Region South.”
Sør Farming owns and operates six salmon farming licenses with a total maximum allowed biomass of 4,680 metric tons (MT) in the area around Haugesund. The business has approximately 30 employees.
"The strategic assessment of Region South is now completed, and we have decided to sell the business. NRS is pleased with the achieved purchase price, and that we can continue to develop our cooperation with the buyers with regards to export of fish, and thus also continue to strengthen our sales department. We are also pleased that the buyers are local, and have the ambitions and resources to continue to develop the business," NRS CEO Charles Høstlund said.
According to NRS’s stock exchange notice, the transaction is part of the company’s strategy to concentrate and strengthen its operations in northern Norway and in Iceland.
"The company has large investments which will contribute to develop our business in the north. Our ambition is to develop the fish farming industry for the future through the continued development of our operations, innovation and new technology, and we intend to do this with northern Norway at the center of our efforts. The transaction provides NRS with more financial flexibility to assess new opportunities for growth," Høstlund said.
The transaction is estimated to be completed by December 2019.
Image courtesy of Norway Royal Salmon
