Iceland's Samherji boosts new salmon farm financing to €320m
Icelandic aquaculture company Samherji Fish Farming has increased the equity private placement for its new land-based salmon farm in Reykjanes to €210 million ($245 million) from an initial €125 million, citing strong investor demand.
The upsized equity round, combined with a syndicated loan of €110 million, brings the project's total financing to €320 million. The company stated that with the equity placement for the first two phases now finalised, it can construct the facility in Reykjanes faster than previously planned and can immediately begin preparing the second phase.
The new salmon farm, which has been under development since 2020, will be built in three phases and will have a final production capacity of 36,000 tonnes of liveweight salmon. The facility will include a freshwater RAS hatchery, an on-growing section with three on-growing stages, and a harvesting facility.
The investors in the equity placement include a group of domestic and foreign firms, as well as six Icelandic pension funds. Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson, the company's Chairman, described the increased investor interest as "a vote of confidence."