Lerøy Seafood Group ASA (LSG) on Monday agreed to purchase a 50.1 percent interest in Rode Beheer BV for EUR 15 million.
The acquisition of the Dutch company — which produces a wide range of smoked, marinated, fresh and frozen Norwegian salmon products — “fits well” with Lerøy’s strategy to expand its sales and distribution network and its product range. Lerøy and Rode have worked together for “many years.”
Last year, Rode posted turnover of EUR 50.6 million and an operating profit of EUR 3.9 million. The company has the capacity to produced more than 12,000 metric tons of finished goods and operates processing plants in Norway, Sweden, Turkey and the Netherlands. It has 87 employees.
Lerøy will produce a total of 155,500 metric tons of salmon and trout (gutted whole fish) in Norway and Scotland this year.
The acquisition will also give Lerøy a foothold in the Netherlands.
“The decision to become the majority shareholder in Rode is an important step in the continued development of LSG’s market strategy aimed at concentrating on independent local units centrally placed in important seafood markets,” said Lerøy. “Proximity to the market offers opportunities for greater flexibility and improved service in relation to the group’s customers. With its central location, Rode is well suited as a supplier of high quality seafood to customers in important markets such as the Benelux countries, Germany and France. The acquisition will also add a broader product range to our already established European sales and distribution network.”
With this acquisition, Lerøy will have and production facilities in Norway, France, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Portugal, Turkey, United States, Japan and China.
The agreement is subject to board approval.
