Evermore Global Advisors, an investment adviser to hedge fund Evermore Global Value Fund, has acquired 88,775 shares of Atlantic Sapphire.
The purchase, made 10 September, raises Evermore Global Value Fund’s stake in the land-based aquaculture firm to 7.26 million shares, or 10.19 percent of Atlantic Sapphire’s total outstanding shares, according to a stock exchange announcement.
After Atlantic Sapphire issued a private placement of its Oslo, Norway-listed shares, raising NOK 906 million (USD 100 million, EUR 84.6 million) through a private placement of 8.87 million new shares on 11 September, Evermore Global Value Fund ownership percentage was diluted to 9.17 percent.
The transaction makes Evermore Global Value Fund the second-largest owner of Atlantic Sapphire, behind Alsco, the investment company of the two founders, Johan E. Andreassen and Bjørn-Vegard Løvik.
Meanwhile, company board member Runar Vatne was recently sentenced to 23 days in prison after being charged for a dangerous driving incident that occurred in August. Vatne was behind the wheel of a Ferrari 488 Spider when he was caught on the E16 in South Aurdal, Southern Norway, going 177 kilometers per hour in an 80-kilometer-per-hour zone.
In addition to the jail sentence, Vatne’s driver’s license was suspended for 37 months. Vatne owns, through Vatne Equity, 4.6 percent of the shares in Atlantic Sapphire, making him the company’s fourth-largest shareholder.
Atlantic Sapphire has been raising money to complete the construction of its Miami, Florida, U.S.A, location, the opening of which has behind schedule due to delays stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, the company was set to begin commercial harvest in April 2020, but that date has been pushed back, and now just the largest fish will be harvested in September. The company said it expects construction on its phase two expansion to begin in the second quarter of 2021. The company previously stated that it expected to more than double production at that stage.
Earlier this month, Jose Prado left his position as Atlantic Sapphire’s chief financial officer, not long after the company’s second-quarter results were released.
