Amerra Capital Management buys aquaculture byproduct firm Biomega

Amerra Capital Management, an American agribusiness asset management firm, recently announced its purchase of aquaculture byproduct firm Marine/Bioproducts and a partnership with Pipeline Opportunity Partners to bring more organic seafood products and products free from genetically modified ingredients to markets worldwide.

Amerra has purchased a 90 percent stake in Sotra, Norway-based Marine/Bioproducts, which also does business as Biomega. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 2001, Biomega produces peptones, proteins, and oils derived from fish byproducts sourced from the salmon farming sector. Its products are for human nutrition and as pet supplements.

Amerra hopes the addition of Biomega will “vertically deepen the firm’s reach along the aquaculture production value chain, while also providing cross-exposure to the human and premium pet nutrition sectors,” the company said in a release.

“A fully automated human grade production process has enabled Biomega to produce a suite of high value products in a cost-efficient way,” Amerra Managing Director Thor Talseth said. “Combined with …Amerra’s global reach, we will have a strong foundation to build a successful international business based on world-leading Norwegian technology.”

For Biomega, the acquisition provides the backing “needed to drive greater collaboration and geographical expansion,” Biomega founder Kjartan Sandnes said.

“Now [we have] the opportunity to realize the global potential of our combined resources,” said Kjartan Sandnes. “Our technology preserves the nutritional value of the raw material and maximizes the combined value in a unique way. We are excited to leverage Amerra’s agriculture knowledge and network and expand outside of Norway.”

Amerra’s Biomega deal is the second in the aquaculture and marine production sector within the past year – in May 2016, it purchased a 90 percent stake in Greek sea bass and bream producer Andromeda Group.

Amerra’s deal with Pipeline Opportunity Partners, announced in mid-February, will result in the launch of Pipeline Foods, according to the company. The new entity, to be based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., will seek to build a national supply chain for sustainable and socially responsible ingredients.

“Beginning with an initial geographic footprint in the Americas, Pipeline Foods plans to rapidly expand its team and asset portfolio to be able to control and certify supply chains from farm gate to fork through a network of strategically located handling and processing assets in both origination and destination markets,” Amerra said in its release.