SalmoNor and NRS initiate merger talks: Høstlund resigns as CEO

by
Aslak Berge

The board of NTS has decided to initiate a strategic dialogue with Norway Royal Salmon (NRS) on a possible merger between NRS and SalmoNor. NTS is the largest single shareholder in NRS and the sole shareholder in SalmoNor.

On Thursday, in a statement to the stock exchange, NTS announced that the company and NRS see significant potential for synergies in a merger of the two businesses.

Combined, NRS and SalmoNor will have a farming potential of approximately 100,000 tonnes gutted weight in Norway and an expected 24,000 tonnes in Iceland through Arctic Fish. The management of both companies sees a clear rationale for, and value-creating potential in, a merger of SalmoNor’s operational practices with NRS’s growth opportunities.

NTS and NRS will publish further details about a potential transaction structure and timeline when this is ready.

With news of that development, a separate statement confirms that NRS CEO Charles Høstlund will be stepping down. Høstlund has been temporarily replaced by Executive Vice President Klaus Hatlebrekke. The appointment is valid from today 30 September.

Klaus Hatlebrekke. PHOTO: NRS

Høstlund will continue as a board member of Arctic Fish (Iceland) and associated fish farming companies in Norway. For the duration of the transitional period he will remain available to the board and management team of NRS.

“It has been a privilege to lead this team with colleagues for the past seven years. In NRS we say that we are commited by name and the name commits. This commitment is really visible in the way we interact both in the company and with customers and partners. I am proud of what we have developed, and NRS is well positioned for future growth,” said Høstlund.

 “I want to thank Charles Høstlund for his commitment and achievements and wish him luck in the future,” said Helge Gåsø, Chairman of the Board of NRS.

“I am proud and humbled to have gained the trust to lead the company in this phase and look forward to starting the strategic dialogue between the companies. Our values, employees and investments form a good basis for realizing our potential,” commented Hatlebrekke.

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