Andfjord Salmon announced a private placement of NOK 38 million (USD 4.3 million, EUR 3.7 million) on 18 February, with animal nutrition and aquafeed leader Nutreco investing and Norwegian seafood group Holmøy increasing its shareholding through its fish-farming company Eidsfjord Sjøfarm AS.
Nutreco will invest NOK 20 million (USD 2.2 million, EUR 2 million) and Eidsfjord Sjøfarm NOK 8 million (USD 896,000, EUR 787,000). Andfjord Salmon Founder and Board Member Roy Bernt Pettersen is investing NOK 10 million (USD 1.1 million, EUR 983,000) to purchase the remainder of the new shares. The investment will be used partly to fund the company’s expansion plan and partly for general corporate expenses.
Andfjord Salmon, which is listed on Oslo’s Euronext Growth market, will have a share capital of just under NOK 37 million (USD 4.1 million, EUR 3.6), following the placement of the 959,595 new shares.
The company also announced that it had entered into a long-term supply and technical advice agreement with Skretting, Nutreco’s aquafeed business. Skretting will supply feed specially tailored for use with the water conditions delivered by Andfjord Salmon’s flow-through technology at its land-based farm on Andøya, the northernmost island in the Arctic archipelago of Lofoten, Vesterålen, Norway.
“We are delighted to enter into these agreements, which will bring on board two strategic investors to Andfjord Salmon and secure the supply of our preferred feed,” Andfjord Salmon CEO Martin Rasmussen said in a release. “Our aim is to have the world’s most fish-friendly and sustainable fish farming facility of its kind. The cooperation with Skretting will help to optimize fish welfare and growth conditions while keeping our environmental footprint as small as possible.”
Nutreco Investment Director Erik Tveteraas said his company is committed to supporting advancements in sustainable seafood production, and said Andfjord Salmon’s project fulfils that aim.
“Our ambition is to provide solutions to a dynamic and important sector that is essential to ensuring that aquaculture continues to meet the seafood needs of our growing global population in a sustainable way,” he said.
The Holmøy group is one of Norway’s largest players in whitefish and salmon, operating trawlers, a 20,000 metric ton (MT) capacity Atlantic salmon farm, a cold storage facility, and providing other services related to the seafood sector.
“Fish is our area of expertise, and we are dedicated to developing new technologies and production methods. Investing in Andfjord Salmon is therefore a natural commitment to an industry we are passionate about,” Holmøy Group CEO and Andfjord Salmon Director Knut Roar Holmøy said.
Andfjord Salmon celebrated a milestone on mid-November 2021 when its first 20-meter-deep flow-through pool was successfully filled with seawater. The move had been delayed by several months to allow the company to conduct extensive testing to ensure the pool’s equipment, sensors and filtration systems were functional.
Photo courtesy of Andfjord Salmon
