Vince McDonagh

BY VINCE MCDONAGH

Battle royale

Two fi sh farming tycoons wanted Norway Royal Salmon, but only one was going to win

THEY grew up together on the same remote, picturesque island off the west coast of Norway. Frøya is where they s� ll live although they seldom meet up these days.

Li� le could SalMar chief Gustav Witzøe and Helge Gåsø, head of NTS, know back then that one day they would confront each other head to head in one of the most drama� c power struggles the salmon industry has seen for many years.

The prize was Norway Royal Salmon (NRS) – a medium-sized business but with big ambi� ons – and only one man could win it.

For a few days in August it looked as if Witzøe had it in the bag, with a higher off er on the table for shareholders and the NRS board telling investors on two occasions to reject the overtures from NTS.

But Gåsø had a couple of aces up his sleeve, which he used to outmanoeuvre his long-standing rival. They came in the shape of Eva Maria Kristoff ersen, who runs the family company Egil Kristoff ersen & Sønner, and Ingri Marie Sivertsen from the business investment company Nyhamn. They were also joined by Norway Fresh, another large investor.

Together the two women held just over 20% of the shares and chose to accept the NTS off er of NOK 240 a share, NOK 30 lower than the SalMar price. The decision is es� mated to have cost Kristoff ersen more than NOK 130m (£1.1m).

So far she has remained reluctant to explain why she took the lower off er, but her business and that of NTS are known to have a high regard for each other.

Sivertsen was a li� le more forthcoming, saying she had acted in the best interests of the company (NRS) and the industry.

Perhaps they thought SalMar was becoming a li� le too powerful. Who knows?

Whatever the reasons, it gave NTS a 68% stake in NRS and turned it into one of the world’s largest salmon farming companies.

Up to that point NTS’s fi sh farming ac� vity, operated by the subsidiary Midt-Norsk Havbruk (MNH) was rela� vely small. NTS is, however, very big in aquaculture support services such as shipping, wellboats and related ac� vi� es through another acquisi� on, Frøy.

With Norway Royal Salmon now part of the family, NTS is set to rival the SalMars and Griegs of this world, especially when it comes to Arc� c Off shore Farming, a subsidiary set up to trial new technology in salmon farming that is currently under development.

Gåsø told the Norwegian fi nancial website e.24 that NTS was no longer an underdog, but one of the world’s largest salmon farmers with an annual produc� on target of 100,000 tonnes.

Above: Gustav Witzøe Left: Helge Gåsø (L) and Fish Minister Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen Opposite from the top: Norway Royal Salmon off shore farm; Eva Maria Kristoff ersen (L), Ingri Marie Sivertsen (R); Frøya Island; Salmar HQ, Frøya

The journey to growth in the fi sh farming sector started couple of months earlier when Midt-Norsk Havbruk merged with another farm operator, SalmoNor.

Gåsø said it felt good to have landed NRS, but the priority now was to consolidate and move on from there .

NRS has already been promised NOK 800m (£68m) in state guarantees towards the construc� on of its futuris� c off shore semisubmersible fi sh farm and hatchery project.

NRS explains: “Salmon live most of their lives in the open sea. It is only for short periods that they are in the � ords before they go up into the rivers to spawn.

“With Arc� c Off shore Farming, we have developed a fi sh farm that, as far as possible, gives the salmon the opportunity to be in the open sea.

“By combining Norway Royal Salmon’s knowledge from the aquaculture industry with Aker’s [the specialist industrial investment company] long industrial experience from mari� me businesses, construc� on of off shore installa� ons and fi shing, the goal is to solve the environmental and area challenge in the industry.”

NRS says the concept will increase land use in Norwegian waters by loca� ng further from the coast, in addi� on to helping to solve of some of the industry’s environmental challenges such as lice.

So what of Gustav Witzøe? He must have been disappointed at losing out, especially when most observers were saying it was almost a done deal. But at least he has the consola� on of announcing, in the same week the NRS saga came to a close, a major partnership deal with Aker ASA to establish a global off shore aquaculture business.

It is currently one of the most talked about developments in the industry. They are se� ng up a joint venture company called SalMar Aker Ocean AS that will take fi sh farming further out to sea.

Aker is inves� ng close to NOK 1.65bn in three stages with the eventual aim of expanding away from Norway into other parts of the world.

Øyvind Eriksen, President and CEO of Aker, said: “The aquaculture industry is at the cusp of a new, more sustainable era, opening up for a new resource base and with green produc� on.”

Of course, SalMar already has a head start on NRS, in that its Ocean Farm 1 project has been under way for at least two years and has already produced 10,000 tonnes of salmon in two stages.

Witzøe said: “SalMar’s focus on the open ocean marked the start of a new era in the seafood industry. Together, we will be at the forefront of ensuring sustainable growth on the salmon’s terms, u� lising the poten� al of the ocean to produce healthier food, deploying digital technologies, cleantech, and using superior supplier industry capabili� es at a cri� cal � me for ensuring sustainable food produc� on in the long term.

“Together, we can take the next technological leap for off shore farming, with a global ambi� on”

And SalMar con� nues to grow despite a knockback in the takeover ba� le. Just prior to announcing the Aker deal, SalMar purchased a 45% stake in the specialist family farming business Refsnes Laks. Perhaps Norway’s compe� � on authority might have intervened if had been successful in capturing NRS? FF

“Perhaps they thought SalMar was becoming a li� le too powerful”