Norway’s Grieg Seafood is aiming to grow its salmon farming activities in North America by acquiring the Grieg Newfoundland project.
The deal includes exclusivity for salmon farming in Placentia Bay, which has a farmable area bigger than the Faroe Islands. The project currently comprises licenses for 11 sea sites. Three licenses are approved, three are expected to be approved in 2020 and the rest are in different stages of application.
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The project, which also includes a high-end recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility which is currently under construction, is said to have a long-term annual harvest potential of 30,000-45,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon.
Grieg Seafood, which has an operation in Newfoundland, is to pay the project’s current owners a total of NOK1.55bn (US$167.6m), made up of separate payments of NOK620.5m and NOK930m.
Grieg Newfoundland is owned by Grieg Seafood’s majority owner Grieg Kapital (39%), Kvasshøgdi (39%), Ocean Choice International (19.5%) and Knut Skeidsvoll (2.5%).
Grieg Seafood has agreed to acquire 99% of the shares of Grieg Newfoundland with an option agreement to acquire the remaining 1%, which is retained by Ocean Choice.
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By GlobalDataGrieg Seafood said the deal fits in with its has “ambitious strategy for long-term sustainable growth and development”. By 2025, it wants to be to harvesting at least 150,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon.
Grieg Seafood CEO Andreas Kvame said: “For the past few years, we have focused on utilising our existing licenses with success. This year, we will reach our target of 100,000 tonnes. Now we are ready for the next step on our growth journey. By developing salmon farming operations in Newfoundland, using cutting-edge technologies at all stages of the production process, we are strengthening our position as a global leader in sustainable salmon farming.”
He added: “With close proximity to important markets on the East Coast of the US, this acquisition significantly strengthens our US market exposure and opens up for synergies with existing operations.”
The Newfoundland project was initiated in 2014.
