BioMar acquisition of Alimentsa finalized

BioMar Group’s acquisition of Ecuadorian shrimp feed producer Alimentsa closed on 13 September, officially making the Danish aquaculture firm one of the leading shrimp feed producers in Latin America.

BioMar, a supplier of high-performance feed to the global aquaculture industry,took a 70 percent stake in Alimentsa for USD 119 million (EUR 105 million), the company first announced on 2 June. Alimentsa, with 145 employees had revenue of USD 75 million (EUR 63.1 million) in 2016 with total feed sales of approximately 77.000 metric tons. The total capacity of its factory in Durán, Ecuador is estimated at 120,000 metric tons and its market share is estimated around 12 to 15 percent.

“It is our strong belief that we through an integration of Alimentsa in BioMar Group, will be able to deliver a new high-end value proposition to the Latin American farmers by merging the highly recognized products and technical services from Alimentsa with our innovative and proven approach to R&D, sustainability and feed efficiency,” BioMar CEO Carlos Diaz said. “We have in BioMar, during recent years, built a strong knowledge base within feed for shrimp and we can furthermore contribute with extensive research and experience from other species such as tilapia and marine species.”

BioMar operates 13 feed factories in Norway, Chile, Denmark, Scotland, Spain, France, Greece, Turkey, China, Costa Rica and now Ecuador. According to the company, about one out of five farmed fish produced in Europe, South, and Central America is fed on BioMar fish feed. Worldwide, BioMar supplies feed to around 80 countries and for more than 45 different fish species. BioMar is wholly owned by the Danish industrial group Schouw & Co, which is listed on the NASDAQ Copenhagen.

BioMar and Alimentsa have already initiated their integration, Diaz said, and during the fourth quarter, the new entity’s focus will be on “connecting the established BioMar units with the employees in Ecuador to build the foundation for the future integration of the new business unit:.”

“We are confident that synergies can be harvested following the acquisition,” Diaz said. “With Alimentsa as part of BioMar Group, we can immediately deliver an attractive value proposition to shrimp farmers in Ecuador. We believe that in the future, together with the employees in Alimentsa and the customers, we can develop new product solutions based upon our share interest in sustainability, innovation and cooperation with the customers.”