SalMar moves closer to acquiring salmon farmer Wilsgård

The world’s second largest Atlantic salmon farmer, SalMar, has moved forward with plans to acquire ownership of fellow Norwegian salmon producer Wilsgård AS through an agreed merger, first announced on February 18.

Wilsgård has a strong presence on Senja and has licences for 5,844 tonnes of maximum allowed biomass in production areas 10 and 11 in northern Norway.

The boards of both companies have agreed to the merger and on a valuation of Wilsgård amounting to NOK 1.767 billion (£127.7 million) on a 100% basis. SalMar already owns 37.5% of Wilsgård as a result of its acquisition of NTS in 2022 and will pay for the outstanding 62.5% with a combination of 20% cash and 80% shares.

SalMar is issuing 1,568,216 shares, each with a nominal value of NOK 0.25, to facilitate the deal. The parties have agreed a price per SalMar share of NOK 563.38 in the merger.

The merger is expected to increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance financial resilience, said SalMar. The merger is expected to be completed during the summer of 2025, dependent upon, amongst other things, approval from relevant authorities.