Norcod updates its funding plan to ensure further growth

Last January, when presenting its operating report for the last quarter of 2025, the Norwegian cod farming company Norcod revealed that it was holding a series of meetings with fixed-income investors to explore a possible new bond issue. However, in a statement to the stock exchange issued at the end of last week, it announced that, to ensure further growth, it has updated its funding plan, opting for a private placement and new debt financing.

In the note, Norcod explained that it has explored available alternatives in the market to support its strategy of continued growth and upscaling strategy, considering potential financing alternatives through the bond market and private loans, but these have ultimately been discarded because the available conditions have not proven attractive enough.

Thus, the cod farming company has now established an updated financing plan that includes obtaining NOK 100 million (EUR 9.22m / USD 10.78m) in new capital through a private placement of new shares, in combination with up to NOK 170 million (EUR 15.67m / USD 18.33m) in new debt financing.

This debt financing will be secured in two ways. Firstly, through the expansion of existing credit lines at DNB Bank ASA and secondly, through a new loan from Innovation Norway for an amount of NOK 50 million (EUR 4.61m / USD 5.39m), subject to final approval by the credit committee.

Norcod, which has engaged DNB Carnegie—part of DNB Bank—as sole bookrunner and Advokatfirmaet Haavind as legal counsel in connection with the private placement, has reported that it has received indications of interest from its main shareholders to support and participate in it, and, based on these discussions, has determined that the subscription price per share offered will be NOK 10 (EUR 0.92 / USD 1.07).

The private placement is expected to take place during the second quarter of 2026. According to the Norwegian cod farming company, this updated financing plan positions it to scale up biomass and achieve profitable operations during the second half of 2026.

The NOK 270 million (EUR 24.89m / USD 29.16m) that Norcod expects to raise now will be added to the NOK 157 million in new equity it secured last November through another private placement directed at Jerónimo Martins Agro-Alimentar, the agribusiness arm of Portuguese retail giant Jerónimo Martins. That deal gave the investor an 18.06% stake.

The farmed cod company expects that the planned capital raising, along with the estimated increase in credit lines, will fully finance production of up to 25,000 tons WFE annually. Despite reporting an operating loss of NOK 47 million (EUR 4.0m / USD 4.3m) in Q4 after an extraordinary mortality event, which led it to revise its 2026 harvest forecast to 5,800 tons, Norcod closed 2025 with revenues up 11.9% compared with 2024.