Gigante Salmon raises over USD 18 million in latest private placement

Gigante Salmon, the company currently building a land-based salmon aquaculture facility Lille Indre Rosøya, Norway, has successfully raised another NOK 200 million (USD 18.2 million, EUR 17.3 million) through a private placement.

The private placement is intended to help pay for an expected cost increase of NOK 200 million for its flow-through salmon aquaculture system. The company announced the cost increase in September, and subsequently announced in October that it secured NOK 100 million (USD 9.1 million, EUR 8.6 million) in financing through a long-term leasing arrangement with SpareBank 1 Finans Nord-Norge. 

The cost increases stem from general price increases for construction, including electric power, and from changes to the facility made to “secure fish welfare and accommodate sustainable production," the company said.

In an investor update on 11 October, Gigante Salmon clarified that of the NOK 200 million cost increase, NOK 70 million (USD 6.4 million, EUR 6 million) is coming from cost increases and NOK 130 million (USD 11.8 million, EUR 11.3 million) is coming from design improvements to the facility. The design improvements include filling out the east shore of the island the facility is located on to create an area for future expansion or additional water treatment/processing equipment, automation equipment, increased redundancy in the water supply system, and for a power capacity increase from 5 megawatts to 6.5 megawatts with added redundancy. 

The initial round of funding was secured through an allocation of 27,777,777 shares at a subscription price of NOK 7.20 (USD 0.65, EUR 0.62) per share. SpareBank 1 Markets and SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge Kapitalmarked acted as the joint bookrunners on the private placement, the company said in a release on the Oslo Børs.

Gigante Havbruk AS, the parent company of Gigante Salmon, was granted half of the shares.

Gigante Salmon said the funding will be used to fund the company’s continued investment and working capital needs “for the construction and operation of the land-based salmon farming site on Lille Indre Rosøy in Rødøy municipality as well as for general corporate purposes."

Following the initial private placement, Gigante Salmon plans to run a subsequent offering 2,777,777 additional shares, expected to raise roughly NOK 20 million (USD 1.8 million, EUR 1.7 million).

In its investor update, the company said that it is on track for its first harvest in Q4 2024, and aims to have the grow-out basin completed in Q4 2023. According to its projections, Gigante Salmon expects to harvest 5,300 metric tons of head-on gutted salmon in its first harvest.  

Photo courtesy of Gigante Salmon