Chilean fish farmer bids for Oslo Børs listing

The company announced last night that it wants the listing of its subsidiary Salmones Camanchaca. It also wrote that it had received a loan offer from a Dutch bank and DNB Bank ASA for US$165 million  over five years, to refinance all its financial obligations.

Peter Behncke, head of investment banking operations in DNB Markets, told kyst.no: "DNB Markets is experiencing high overall activity in the seafood sector, and has a positive outlook on the industry and market outlook.

"We see that the Chilean salmon farming industry has worked its way through a difficult phase and that there is growing interest among investors to take a closer look at the Chilean companies."

Fast-track process

Camanchaca has said it will work to be listed on the Børs during 2017, and according to Geir Harald Aase, who is communications director at the Oslo Stock Exchange, this is no problem.

"A process of getting listed on the stock exchange can go pretty fast. The fastest way is a four-week "fast track" process. A standard process takes about eight weeks," said Aase.

"I see they are using DNB Markets that has good experience in facilitating the Oslo Stock Exchange and knows how to meet deadlines, so I think it will go smoothly," he added.

Faroes company Bakkafrost is a foreign salmon actor on the stock exchange, and Aase said seafood companies from Peru and Poland had previously been listed. But he couldn't remember a seafood company, or another company from Chile for that matter, having been there.

"If the Chileans complete plans for listing, they will be the only Chilean party listed here," he said.

Interest from around the world

Aase said he was pleased to hear about such an interest from foreign players.

"Seafood is an important sector on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Looking at the market values ??of the various companies, we are the largest in the world in seafood. The fact that we are so large means that we again can attract companies and investors from the sector from all over the world. The interest is there because they know also that there are big hitters and important investors in Oslo," he noted.

He said he has heard that several foreign seafood companies are considering listing.

"These come from both from the American continent and from Asia. OSE is on the radar of all the seafood world."

Also Chilean Multiexport announced this week that it had received loans of $100 million total, from both Chilean and international banks.