Marine Harvest ASA (MHG), the world’s biggest salmon producer, bought farming assets from bankrupt Acuinova Chile SA for $120 million, boosting access to Russia after the country banned fish imports from Europe.
The deal allows the Oslo-based company, controlled by billionaire John Fredriksen, to increase salmon output in Chile by 15,000 metric tons next year, equivalent to 23 percent of this year’s expected harvest, Marine Harvest said today in a statement. The assets include 36 sea-water licenses and have the capacity to produce 40,000 tons a year.
“It doesn’t hurt” to increase Chilean production capacity in the current situation, Marine Harvest Chief Executive Officer Alf Helge Aarskog said in a phone interview. “But it’s not the main reason. The main reason is that it strategically fits our operations in Chile in the long-term.”
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