American Industrial Partners (AIP), a global industrials investor, has acquired an ownership position in Aker BioMarine’s Feed Ingredients segment. Feed Ingredients will be held by a newly established company, Aker BioMarine Antarctic Holding II AS, which will be owned 60% by AIP and 40% by Aker ASA via its wholly owned subsidiary Aker Capital AS.
The company is the world’s only industrial-scale krill harvester and brings a natural, sustainable and health-promoting source of nutrients into animal and human nutrition.
Krill is one of the largest and most robust biomasses in the ocean and is increasingly recognized as a highly valuable ingredient in aquaculture feed due to its nutrient-dense properties, which are hard to replicate synthetically. The company’s fishing operations are comprised of three purpose-built Antarctic harvesting and processing vessels, one support vessel, and its shoreside operations are in Montevideo, Uruguay. The company is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and employs approximately 450 employees and crewmembers.
“We are eager to join forces with AIP, leveraging their maritime expertise and growing aquaculture presence to accelerate our growth trajectory. This partnership positions us to more rapidly advance the aquaculture, animal health and sustainability benefits of krill globally,” said Webjørn Barstad, CEO of Aker.
“Krill is a powerfully evolving niche market with compelling and sustainable growth opportunities given both its nutrient dense properties and the still underutilized nature of the vast but remote Antarctic fishery,” said Toni Rinnevaara, partner and chief investment officer of AIP. “As the industry’s pioneer, the company has been a leading innovator in both krill harvesting technologies as well as the evolution of high-value market applications of the resource through the advancement of aquaculture food science. At AIP, we put great emphasis on partnering with extraordinary people and organizations and we are wholly committed to a close collaboration with the company, its management team and Aker ASA to help Feed Ingredients achieve its great potential.”
Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma AS, Ropes & Gray LLP and Baker Botts LLP served as legal counsel to AIP. Arctic, Carnegie and Rabobank acted as financial advisers to Aker BioMarine in connection with the transaction, and Schjødt as legal adviser.
