Merger of Bluefront Equity-owned companies to create integrated solutions for aquaculture feeding

Two Norwegian aquaculture feeding optimization technology and software specialists, Piscada Aqua and Spillfree Analytics, are set to merge.

The companies, both headquartered in Trondheim, are also both majority-owned by the Norwegian seafood investment firm Bluefront Equity, which will own 85% of the new business entity following the merger, which is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2026.

Spillfree Analytics, which has been part of Bluefront Equity's investment portfolio since 2023, specializes in software solutions optimizing feeding performance in the aquaculture industry, including video and data analysis supported by AI software.

Meanwhile, Piscada Aqua is a software company delivering data consolidation services for feeding optimization and data insight tools to the aquaculture industry. Bluefront Equity acquired the firm in April this year, with Bluefront CEO & Founding Partner Kjetil Haga saying at the time that the acquisition was motivated by a belief "that digitizing core processes and enabling biology and economics to work in tandem is the key to a more efficient and sustainable seafood industry."

The Managing Director of Piscada Aqua, Steinar Fossen, will take on leadership of the new company, which will operate under the name of Piscada Aqua.

“These two companies sport complementary product portfolios that focus on improving feeding processes, professionalizing feeding, and enabling increased capacity for fish farmers,” Fossen said via a press release.

"This provides an excellent foundation for delivering complete and even more integrated solutions for feeding operations," he added.

“Our intention is that Spillfree’s software and AI will be offered as part of Piscada Aqua’s portfolio going forward, while Piscada Aqua will continue to act as a neutral partner, independent of suppliers. We believe that fish farmers will recognize the value of this,” Fossen said.

In August, Bluefront Equity announced the successful closure of its second impact fund, Bluefront Capital II, after securing after securing over $100 million from investors including the European Investment Fund (EIF), Novo Holdings, and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

In the same month, the seafood investment firm also announced that Seaqloud, a software and sensor technology provider to the seafood industry in which it is a majority shareholder, was acquiring fellow Norwegian company Sematek, a specialist in aquaculture sensor technologies.

Shortly afterwards, in September, Bluefront Equity announced it had become the majority shareholder of Aqua Kompetanse, a fish health and marine environmental consultancy, acquiring a 55% stake in the business.