Canada’s High Liner Foods invests £8m in Norwegian salmon farmer

The large North American seafood company High Liner Foods is making a big investment into land-based salmon producer Andfjord Salmon.

Norway’s Andfjord Salmon last night launched a private placement to raise between NOK 300 million and 350 million (£22 and £25m). It allocated 10,606,060 shares at subscription prices of NOK 33 per share.

It has since been disclosed that Canada based High Liner will take shares worth around NOK 107 million (£8m). The issue was very quickly fully subscribed.

Paul Jewer, President and Chief Executive Officer at High Liner Foods, said: “Salmon is an important growth species for High Liner Foods, and we believe that land-based aquaculture will become an important component of the global salmon supply chain that will help bridge the gap between supply and demand.

“Today’s modest investment will give High Liner Foods a platform to gain operational insights and experience in land-based aquaculture as part of our ongoing efforts to meet the growing consumer demand for sustainably sourced and eco-friendly seafood products.”

Portugal based food and retail group Jerónimo Martins Agro-Alimentar SA, which is the largest shareholder, subscribed for approximately NOK 87 million (£6.4m).

Andfjord Salmon operates a flow-through facility at Kvalnes on the island of Andøya in northern Norway.

The company said the private placement will enable the company to expand the company’s production capacity at Kvalnes, ramping up biomass and for general corporate purposes.

Martin Rasmussen, CEO of Andfjord Salmon Group AS (pictured), said: “Our Kvalnes build-out is on track and on budget, and the ‘post-smolt’ opportunity we announced on 29 February this year has generated significant interest from industrial investors.

“We have decided to utilise this positive momentum to our advantage and raise funds that provide us with added financial flexibility. We are delighted that strong, international industrial investors have pre-committed for substantial amounts”.

The statement added: “Further, a private placement will reduce the execution and completion risk and allows for the company to utilise current market conditions and raise capital more quickly, at a lower discount compared to a rights issue and without the underwriting commissions normally seen with rights offerings.”