Måsøval hits fund-raising target

Måsøval, the family-owned Norwegian fish farmer seeking to list on Oslo’s EuroNext Growth market, has succeeded in raising the NOK 825m (£70m) it needs to fund its growth ambitions – less than a week after unveiling its plan.

The issue price was set at NOK 32.90 per share and this values the business at NOK 3.25bn. Some 9.2m new shares were issued after the Måsøval family selling down more than 13 million of their own shares.

The speed at which the placement was fully subscribed is another indication of how keen investors are to get into fish farming.  It matches those of other IPOs in the last few months.

Måsøval, which currently harvests around 17,000 tonnes of salmon a year,  should  start trading on EuroNext Growth later this week, probably on Thursday.

One of the early salmon farming pioneers, Måsøval said it intends to use the funds for growth at home and in Iceland, where it also has significant interests.

The company chairman, Lars Måsøval, said earlier this week: “…we think it is nice if others have faith in what we have achieved so far in the company’s history and hope that new shareholders find our company interesting to invest in.”

Founded in 1972, the business is based on Frøya, an island at the far end of the Trøndelag coast in central Norway.