Offers are coming in for family-run company – which has which was put on the market this month.
In early June, SalmonBusiness announced that K. Strømmen Lakseoppdrett in Rugsund, Western Norway, was being put up for sale.
Kurt André Strømmen and his brother Sven Jørgen Strømmen, who own the company together with Andreas Strømmen, were not particularly talkative when SalmonBusiness asked them to confirm the sales plans earlier this month.
“I will neither deny nor confirm anything. I simply do not want to comment on this. There are some rumours,” said Kurt André Strømmen.
SalmonBusiness has now learnt from independent sources that several players have bid more than NOK 750 million (EUR 77 million) for the company, including buyer groups.
SalmonBusiness now knows that Lingalaks are among the stakeholders.
“On a general basis, all such sales are up for assessment in Lingalaks. We do not comment on each individual case,” said Lingalaks CEO Kristian Botnen when pressed if his company was among those who want to buy K. Strømmen Lakseoppdrett.
The family-run business, founded by fish farming pioneer Kristen Strømmen in 1972, has four fish licenses and operations in four locations – in the middle of “Mowi land” – and produces around 5,500 tonnes of salmon annually.
“We cannot comment on any acquisitions,” wrote Mowi communications director Ola Helge Hjetland in an e-mail to SalmonBusiness.
Last week, it was reported that Pareto Securities had been chosen as a facilitator for the transaction. Though Henning Lund, who works in Pareto’s corporate finance department, has so far neither confirmed nor denied whether they are assisting K. Strømmen in a possible sales process.
“Unfortunately, we cannot comment on processes where we have, or can have a role,” said Lund to SalmonBusiness a week ago.
