Pictured: SalMar Aker Ocean's Ocean Farm 1, the world's first offshore salmon farm.
Photo: SalMar Aker Ocean.
Norwegian salmon farming company SalMar has signed a deal to become the sole owner of offshore aquaculture firm SalMar Aker Ocean (SAO).
In a stock exchange announcement, SalMar confirmed that it had agreed to purchase 15% of Aker Capital's stake in the company, valued at NOK 650 million, giving it 100% ownership. SAO will now become a wholly-owned subsidiary of SalMar.
The transaction will be settled with 1 million SalMar shares, worth NOK 574 million, plus a cash consideration of NOK 76 million. As a result of the deal, Aker will become a 0.75% shareholder in SalMar. SalMar said the deal values SAO at NOK 4.33 billion on a 100% basis.
The Norwegian salmon farmer said the acquisition follows "extensive evaluations" and discussions between the two companies.
"Offshore aquaculture offers promising growth opportunities both domestically and globally. Following extensive evaluations and discussions, the two partners, SalMar and Aker, have concluded that the technological development and opportunities for offshore/semi-offshore aquaculture, both within and outside Norway, can be more effectively managed as an integrated part of the SalMar group," SalMar said in a statement.
The move is also expected to improve coordination regarding regulatory and technical frameworks across different locations and production areas, SalMar said.
As part of the transition, SalMar Aker Ocean’s CEO, Roy Reite, and CFO, Trine Sæther Romuld, will step down from their roles. SalMar said the two executives "found it natural to step down as the company is incorporated and managed as a wholly-owned subsidiary of SalMar".
SalMar announced that Anders Fjellheim has been appointed as the new managing director of SAO. Fjellheim has worked as operations manager at SalMar Aker Ocean since 2022, and has a background in aquaculture research as well as
