The family that controls Norway-based salmon producer Grieg Seafood is restructuring ownership of the business.
Through its investment vehicle Grieg Aqua, the Grieg Group currently controls 50.17% of the shares in publicly traded Grieg Seafood.
A notice submitted to the Oslo Stock Exchange said the Grieg family had agreed to split ownership of the group’s assets.
The Willumsen Grieg family branch and the Grieg Foundation will assume control of the majority holding in Grieg Seafood, which is owned through Grieg Aqua.
As part of the arrangement, Belgian investment firm Ackermans & van Haaren (AvH) has agreed to purchase an interest in Grieg Aqua.
Subject to completion during the fourth quarter, the transaction will give AvH a 37.5% holding in Grieg Aqua. The investor will therefore become a co-owner alongside the Grieg family and the Grieg Foundation.
AvH said its investment would amount to €93m (US$107.8m). Grieg Aqua will retain its 50.17% shareholding in Grieg Seafood.
“Grieg Seafood ASA is not a party to these transactions but views the development positively. The professional and long-term ownership represented by Ackermans & Van Haaren and Willumsen Grieg, provides a solid foundation for Grieg Seafood ASA’s future strategic execution,” Grieg Seafood said in a brief statement.
In a separate announcement, AvH said: “This investment provides AvH with an opportunity to invest into Norway’s world-leading salmon aquaculture ecosystem alongside an entrepreneurial family with deep sector expertise.
“It also represents an important step in AvH’s ambition to further develop a meaningful food and agri platform, building on the group’s long-standing investment in SIPEF.”
SIPEF, which is headquartered in Belgium and listed on Euronext, is engaged in palm oil cultivation across Southeast Asia.
The Grieg family said: “The shareholders in the Grieg Group have for some time considered how we should pass ownership on to the next generations. We have now decided that a division of ownership will be best for both value creation in the companies we own and for us as a family.”
