Nordic seafood group Leroy Seafood has bought a minority share in local seafood farming firm Villa Organic.
In a statement today (10 April), the company said it had purchased 39.74% of the shares of Villa Organic at an average price of NOK2.85 (US$0.50) per share. The total purchase price was NOK161m.
Villa Organic, an aquaculture group based in Finnmark, in the north of the country, said it expects to harvest around 13,000 tons of salmon in 2013.
The acquisition comes after Leroy Seafood booked a drop in 2012 profit in February as the bottom line was dented by lower salmon prices.
During the year, the company was hit by a NOK50m charge associated with the closure of a fish processing site. However, the steep decline in earnings was primarily attributed to lower salmon prices.