Leroy Seafood Group has entered into an agreement with Aker Capital and Aker Capital II to purchase a controlling stake in Havfisk and Norway Seafoods Group for NOK3.2bn ($390m).
The acquisition represents 64.4% and 73.6% of the total share capital in Havfisk and Norway Seafoods.
The purchase includes entire shareholdings held by Aker Capital, Aker Capital II and Fausken Invest in the two companies.
The deal is expected to strengthen Leroy's position in the whitefish segment in Europe by providing access to over 100,000 tons of raw whitefish.
The completion of the deal is subject to approvals from industry and fisheries ministry and the relevant competition authorities.
Leroy chairman Helge Singelstad said: "The combination of Leroy, Havfisk and Norway Seafoods will fulfill Leroy long-term strategic objective to become a fully integrated supplier of seafood, which not only delivers redfish but also whitefish.
"Leroy will provide secure supplies of both red and white fish are attractive to our customers and will put Leroy in a unique position.
"This strategic move puts Lery in a position where it can continue its long-term development direction of the company's vision of becoming one of the world's most profitable global supplier of sustainable high-quality seafood."
Havfisk, which has nearly 11% of the total Norwegian catch quotas for groundfish, reported an annual revenue of NOK1.31m last year. It has a fleet of nine vessels.
On the other hand, Norway Seafoods is one of Europe's largest crop processing, sales and distribution company for whitefish. Its reception network includes 13 stations along the coast of northern Norway. In 2015, the company earned a revenue of NOK1, 979m.
Norway Seafoods has 9 primary processing facilities (8 in Norway, one in Denmark) and 3 secondary manufacturing facilities (2 in Norway, one in Denmark).
Leroy CEO Beltestad said: "The main market trends for global seafood product, traceability, cost throughout the value chain, credibility and continuity of supply and quality.
"Gaining ownership and access to more than 100,000 tons of groundfish give Leroy a unique opportunity to become a real supplier of fresh / "refreshed" seafood products."
Image: Leroy Seafood acquires Havfisk and Norway Seafoods for NOK 3.2 bln. Photo courtesy of Leroy.
