Goldman Sachs subsidiary completes USD 630 million acquisition of Frøy

Goldman Sachs has officially completed its acquisition of a controlling 72-percent stake in aquaculture services firm Frøy in a deal worth a reported NOK 6.6 billion (USD 630 million, EUR 577 million).

SalMar entered the sales process in April, after classifying its stake in Frøy as an asset for sale in a January 2023 update. At the time, the company reported “strong incoming interest” in its holdings in the company.

SalMar acquired its stake in Frøy through its acquisition of NTS in December 2022, a purchase it made after fending off a competing bid from fellow salmon farming company Mowi. The purchase came soon after Salmar completed a merger with Norwegian Royal Salmon in November 2022, which resulted in SalMar acquiring all of NRS’s outstanding shares in NTS.

Now, according to a release posted to the Oslo Børs, Falcon Bidco – a company indirectly wholly owned by infrastructure funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management – has successfully acquired SalMar’s 72 percent stake in Frøy. A cash consideration will be paid to SalMar at NOK 76.50 (USD 6.93, EUR 6.47) per share, and with the 62,269,112 shares held by NTS, the transaction between Falcon Bidco and SalMar would be valued at roughly NOK 4.7 billion (USD 448 million, EUR 411 million).  

With the sale – which was approved by regulators on 20 July – Falcon Bidco now holds 90.82 percent of the outstanding shares and votes of Frøy, which required the company to make a mandatory offer for all remaining shares in the aquaculture services company. A release from Frøy on the Oslo Børs indicates that Falcon Bidco plans to carry out a compulsory acquisition of all the remaining shares “shortly prior” to the launch of a mandatory offer.

“It is expected that the compulsory acquisition will be resolved by the Offeror on or about 16 August 2023 with effect from close of trade on that day,” Frøy said.

Frøy, in a release posted to its website, said the acquisition would in total amount to NOK 6.6 billion between the shares held by SalMar and the remainder.

“The acquisition confirms our solid business model and provides a solid foundation for further development of the company,” Frøy CEO Tony Foss said in a release. “I would like to extend a big thank you to our employees, customers, and partners for their unconditional support as we navigate into a new and exciting chapter.”  

Frøy reported a solid Q2 ahead of the sale, with  NOK 518 million (USD 49 million, EUR 45 million) in revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of NOK 171 million (USD 16.4 million, EUR 14.9 million).  

Photo courtesy of Frøy