Land-based salmon farmer raises £45.2m for expansion
Land-based fish farmer Andfjord Salmon has raised approximately NOK 615 million (£45.2m) in a private placement of almost 16 million new shares at NOK 38.50 each.
The net proceeds will be used to expand the company’s production capacity at Kvalnes on the island of Andøya in Vesterålen, northern Norway.
Andfjord Salmon has seen good biological results in its first farming cycle in a pilot pool at Kvalnes and is due to carry out its first harvest of around 700 gutted weight tonnes imminently. It plans to expand production capacity at the site to 40,000 gwt and add another 50,000 gwt split between two other sites on the island.
Portuguese retail chain Jerónimo Martins, which already owned a 10.54% stake in Andfjord Salmon, was allocated a further 10 million shares in the private placement, and salmon farmer Eidsfjord Sjøfarm, which had 1.25% ownership, was allocated 2,077,922 shares.
Other primary insiders were also allocated shares.
Subsequent offering
Andfjord Salmon intends to carry out a subsequent offering of up to 2,077,923 new shares which will be directed towards existing shareholders who were not allocated shares in the private placement, although this will depend, among other things, on the development of the price of the shares in the company after the completion of the private placement.
Earlier this month Andfjord Salmon announced that it had secured a NOK 700m loan for expansion of its facility at Kvalnes. “The bank financing represents a major step in the further expansion of Andfjord Salmon and is based on excellent biological and operational results from our first pool. We are delighted to have secured such competitive financing,” said chief executive Martin Rasmussen at the time.
