The company is set to deploy rented cooling systems to bring water temperatures back down at the facility.
Land-based salmon producer Atlantic Sapphire has successfully raised $65 million (€60.8 million) from a share issue, the company announced on Tuesday night.
The money will be used to keep operations running and ensure ongoing construction work on the its Miami facility can continue.
Read more: Atlantic Sapphire announces $65 million share issue
Before the issue, Atlantic Sapphire had 279 million shares. Following Tuesday’s issue, the company now has a total of 780 million shares.
Alsco, the investment company owned by founders Johan E. Andreassen and Bjørn-Vegard Løvik, now holds just a 1.3 percent in Atlantic Sapphire.
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The Florida-based company is also aiming to raise another $13 million from a subsequent share issue, the company said in a separate update late on Tuesday.
The share issue follows Atlantic Sapphire reported lower revenue for the first half of 2023 caused by weaker-than-expected production because of water temperature issues at the farm.
Net proceeds from the share issue will be used to reach an estimated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) break-even for Phase 1 during the first half of 2024, with a cash buffer.
Helped by the funds the company said it will deploy rental chillers estimated to bring water temperatures back to budgeted levels.
Following a previous announcement on August 24, 2023, where the group indicated a potential covenant breach, the company has secured a waiver from its lender, DNB Bank.
The bank has also agreed to release funding for the new Phase 1 & 2 chiller plant upon the successful completion of the private placement.
Earlier this year, Atlantic Sapphire reported a 16.7 percent decline in its first-half revenue to $8 million compared to the previous year. The company recorded an adjusted loss of about $36.4 million. The company’s harvest volume for the first half of the year was 870 metric tons, a 30 percent decline from the previous year.
