Atlantic Sapphire, the Norwegian-owned land-based salmon behemoth, has announced it has successfully completed a private placement of US $65 million (NOK 702 million / EUR 60.8 million).
The company, based near Miami in Florida, also announced plans to open a second share offering later in the autumn, aiming to raise approximately a further US $12.9 million.
Atlantic Sapphire, aiming to become the world's largest land-based farmer, is still reeling from a challenging year beset by financial and biological setbacks.
The company's 2023 half-year results showed a significant drop in sales earnings, as well a net loss of US $48.38 million.
In the second quarter of 2023, Atlantic Sapphire reported production of 870 metric tons of head-on gutted (HOG), 29% less in comparison to last year, and only a fraction of its total capacity of 9,500 tonnes for its Phase 1 facility. Elevated water temperature associated with summer heatwaves in Florida added to its woes, leading to a lower biomass than expected.
At the time, CFO Karl Oystein said the priority was to "get the farm back on track", which would include installing additional water chillers to ensure optimal temperatures can be maintained in future.
Atlantic Sapphire has indicated that proceeds from the current share offering will be used to support the first phase of its chiller plant construction, with the aim of reaching EBITDA break-even in the first half of 2024.
The company began the two-stage private placement of its shares on Tuesday this week, offering a total of 501,428,571 new shares at NOK 1.40 each, following an "accelerated bookbuilding" process led by bookrunners Arctic Securities and DNB Bank's DNB Markets.
The shares will be delivered in two tranches of 55 million and just over 446 million each, with the first batch expected on Friday. The second, larger, tranche is subject to approval of stakeholders at an extraordinary general meeting on October 11, with delivery due to take place on October 13.
Atlantic Sapphire has also announced it intends to launch a subsequent share offering of up to 100 million new shares to some of its existsing shareholders. If successful, this could raise apprxoimately NOK 140 million (US $12.9 million/€12.2 million) in gross proceeds.
