Norcod acquires Norwegian fish processor Kråkøy Slakteri

Norwegian cod farmer Norcod has acquired 100 percent of the shares of fish-processing company Kråkøy Slakteri.

In a stock filing, Norcod said the purchase price will be settled partly in cash and partly in Norcod shares. The company said it will issue 577,639 shares at a price of NOK 36 (USD 3.40 EUR 3.13) per share, for a total of NOK 20.8 million (USD 1.9 million, EUR 1.8 million).

Founded in 1973, Kråkøy operates a salmon slaughterhouse in Roan, Norway. In November 2021, the company carried out a “trial slaughter” of a few thousand farmed cod that were part of Norcod's first commercial harvest.

In 2022, Kråkøy had a revenue of NOK 63 million (USD 5.9 million, EUR 5.4 million), according to Norcod, and earnings before interest and taxes of around 5 percent, which Norcod said will add to its free cash flow. It said the purchase will also provide operational synergies and enable cost efficiencies in its value chain.

“Led by our strategy for growth, this vertical integration of our value chain is a strategic step to improve our operations and create a robust and streamlined business model,” Norcod CEO Christian Riber said in a release.

Kråkøy CEO Roger Sørgård – the son of company founder Ole Sørgård – said the purchase will help his company scale and accelerate its growth ambitions.

“Joining forces with Norcod is an acknowledgment of the success we have had serving the local market with harvesting services,” he said.

Norcod said it expects the transaction to close around 4 July, 2023. 

The purchase comes soon after the Norway Directorate of Fisheries ordered Norcod to conduct a cull after it found sexually mature cod at once of its facilities. Despite the event, and the company saying it would cause a “significant” earnings drop, it still managed to draw NOK 190 million (USD 17.9 million, EUR 16.5 million) through a private placement in April – outstripping its original goal of between NOK 125 million and NOK 175 million (USD 11.8 million and USD 16.5 million, EUR 10.8 million and EUR 15.2 million).  

Photo courtesy of Norcod