NTS wins bidding war for SalmoNor, confirms merger

Norwegian aquaculture group NTS ASA bested competition Mowi and SalMar and acquired salmon farming company SalmoNor AS, with the group’s board confirming that it will merge the business with its own salmon farming company, Midt-Norsk Havbruk AS (MNH).

The merger will create a salmon-focused aquaculture player on the Namdal coast with a total harvest volume of approximately 37,000 metric tons (MT), according to an NTS statement. Employing some 120 people, the company will be called SalmoNor.

“The merger of two strong and competent aquaculture companies such as SalmoNor and MNH will be a good industrial solution that triggers significant synergies,” SalmoNor General Manager Vibecke Bondø said. “For us, this is about facilitating further sustainable growth and new jobs on the coast. We also want in the future to be a clear social actor that contributes to building viable local communities.”

Both MNH and SalmoNor are fully integrated salmon farmers, controlling their entire value chain from hatchery to slaughterhouse. Together, they own about 74 percent of the shares in one of the country's most modern processing facilities, SalmoSea AS, on Flerengstranda.

“This strengthens NTS's position as a central Norwegian aquaculture group,” NTS CEO Harry Bøe said. “The merged company will be a significant player and employer in Nærøysund municipality, and gives new impetus to healthy and sustainable aquaculture growth.”

The merger agreement needs to be approved by the Norwegian Competition Authority, but the company said it expects the transaction to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2021.

“SalmoNor is a good and very well-run company, and we welcome the owners of SalmoNor to the shareholder community in NTS. With this, NTS will take a new and important step towards our goal of being an active participant in the production of 100,000 MT of Norwegian salmon,” NTS Chairman Odd Øie said.

Photo courtesy of MNH/Steinar Johansen