Seafood processor Cooke has struck a deal to acquire Norwegian rival Mowi’s salmon farming business in eastern Canada.
Publicly listed Mowi said today (30 June) it had agreed a fee of C$225m ($158.1m) for the assets.
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The Oslo-listed producer said the sale will allow it to “focus even more on core farming geographies”.
In a separate statement, Cooke said the deal encompasses freshwater hatchery facilities, sea farming sites and two processing plants across New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Glenn Cooke, the CEO of Cooke, called the deal an “exciting growth opportunity” for the company’s operations in the Atlantic Canada region.
He added: “We look forward to welcoming Mowi Canada East’s 250 employees to Cooke, and to working together to grow the sector and sustainably farm Atlantic salmon for customers in this region and beyond.
“Our immediate objectives will be to stabilise and reinvest in the operations through synergies with our existing farming operations across Atlantic Canada.”
The deal remains subject to due diligence and customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. It is expected to be completed in the second half of the year.
Mowi added it has lowered its 2026 volume guidance from 605,000 GWT to 600,000 GWT because of the sale and expects to record a C$140m write-down in connection with the deal.
In March, Cooke agreed to purchase the debt facilities of Avramar Greece. As Cooke already had an existing agreement to acquire the equity of Avramar Greece, the deal meant the company would acquire operational control of the Greek business.
Mowi, meanwhile, has made acquisitions over the past year.
Last October, the company raised its interest in Norway-based salmon farming and processing peer Nova Sea to 95% from 49%. Nova Sea held a minority stake in Torghatten Aqua, which also transferred over to Mowi.
In March, Mowi agreed to buy all of Torghatten Aqua’s seawater salmon farming business in northern Norway. As part of this deal, Mowi said it would return the 33.34% stake in Torghatten Aqua gained through the Nova Sea acquisition, allowing Torghatten Aqua to develop its land-based operations independently.
According to its 2025 annual report, Mowi remains the world’s largest Atlantic salmon farmer, accounting for one-fifth of the salmon produced in Norway and Europe, and roughly one-third of the UK and North American production.
The salmon processor posted annual sales of €5.73bn ($6.80bn) in 2025 based on all-time high harvest volumes of 559,000 tonnes, while fourth-quarter volumes reached 152,000 tonnes.
