On-land salmon farmer raises £42.7m
Salmon Evolution, which is building a large on-land salmon farm on the island of Indre Harøy in Norway, has raised NOK 500 million (£42.7m) in a private placement.
According to a stock exchange announcement, more than 83.3 million shares were issued at a price of NOK 6 per share on the Euronext Growth market. The issue is said to have been significantly oversubscribed, and the share ended at a price of NOK 6.895 on Wednesday.
Roger Halsebakk, the founder of the world’s biggest wellboat company Sølvtrans, bought 1.7m shares through his investment company Ronja Capital II AS. It takes his Salmon Evolution holding to 26,687,687 shares.
Five board member companies also bought shares, and chief financial officer Trond Håkon Schaug-Pettersen was allocated 166,666 shares.
Project costs
According to the announcement, the net proceeds will be used to finance the company’s estimated project costs for the first phase of the land-based facility on Indre Harøy, depending on the completion of debt facilities; to finance the company’s estimated equity requirement of approximately NOK 200 million for the announced joint venture with seafood giant Dongwon Industries in South Korea; and for the conclusion of agreements, as well as for general corporate purposes.
Salmon Evolution intends to produce 36,000 tonnes of salmon per year on Indre Harøy from 2028 using what it describes as hybrid flow-through (HFS) technology. The first phase, due for completion in the fourth quarter of next year, will produce 9,000 tonnes.
The South Korean project, under the name K Smart, will be developed in two phases, each with an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes. Construction is planned to start in the second half of 2022, with completion and production start in 2024.
