Exterior of Proximar Seafood's facility in Oyama, Japan.
Photo: Proximar Seafood
Proximar Seafood has announced that its Board Chair Kjell-Erik Østdahl will step down from his role with effect from 1 January 2026.
The company said Østdahl, a professional investor who also serves as chair of several other companies including the Norwegian-owned Nordic Aqua Partners, which operates a land-based salmon farm in China, informed the board of his decision to resign. Directors thanked him for his efforts during his time as chair.
Board member Viggo Halseth will take over as interim chair until the next general meeting. Halseth has been a board member since 2022 and has 38 years of experience in the aquaculture feed industry, including as Chief Innovation Officer at Nutreco and CEO of Skretting Norway and the Skretting Group.
The announcement comes shortly after a separate announcement by the land-based salmon farming company, naming Tetsuya Kobayashi as its new Chief Financial Officer, as the company continues what it describes as "a gradual and planned organisational shift of resources from Norway to Japan." The outgoing CFO Ole Christian Willumsen, who is due to leave at the end of January, is Proximar’s only remaining employee based in Norway.
In a separate stock exchange announcement, Proximar confirmed it has secured an extension and increase of its loan agreement with JA Mitsui Leasing. The existing JPY 750 million loan (approx. NOK 50m / USD 5.2m), previously due on 30 December 2025, has been extended and doubled in size.
The amended facility totals JPY 1.5 billion (NOK 100m / USD 10.3m) and will now mature on 24 December 2026. Proximar said the financing supports its working capital requirements following an updated harvesting plan outlined in its third-quarter 2025 results. Grieg Kapital AS remains guarantor for the loan under an amended guarantee agreement.
In October, Proximar announced it had raised NOK 150 million in a fully subscribed rights issue, shortly after issuing an operational update for Q3 confirming it had increased its standing biomass to 1,389 tonnes, following reduced capacity in the second quarter due to biofilter incidents and subsequent repairs. In its full Q3 report, the company said it was on track to reach its year-end biomass target of 2,000 tonnes.
"We are pleased to now see improved farming conditions yielding results with low natural mortality and improved growth rates. We expect to demonstrate the potential of our business model and our unique position as our production gradually gets back on track entering 2026, coupled with a positive market outlook and attractive price levels," CEO Joachim Nielsen said in November.
