Grieg Seafood’s facility in Marystown, Nfld. The company is selling its businesses in B.C., Newfoundland and Finnmark, Norway, to Mitsubishi-owned Cermaq.Supplied
Norway’s Grieg Seafood ASA has signed an agreement to sell its businesses in B.C., Newfoundland and Finnmark, Norway, to Mitsubishi-owned Cermaq for 10.2-billion kroner ($1.3-billion).
The deal marks the Canadian exit of a major player in the sector just over one year after Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced the shutdown of B.C.’s open net-pen salmon farms by June 30, 2029. Grieg Seafood will focus its business in Norway.
“We aim to continue to be a strong actor in the advancement of sustainable aquaculture in Norway,” Nina Willumsen Grieg, chief executive officer of Grieg Seafood, said in a company press release.
For Cermaq, the deal is a bet on Canada’s aquaculture industry, and a bid to stay competitive in an increasingly consolidated global market.
“With dedicated employees and operations in several regions where Cermaq operates today, we believe the companies are an excellent match with a common goal for sustainable and innovative operations,” CEO Steven Rafferty said in a statement.
Norway’s high-stakes gamble into sustainable salmon farming
In B.C., Grieg Seafood operates 11 farms, a land-based freshwater facility, offices and a sales organization that employs 126 people. In Newfoundland, Grieg owns 14 seawater licences in Placentia Bay, as well as a land-based freshwater facility and offices in Marystown. The company employs 110 people in the province.
Cermaq’s acquisition will add to the company’s operations off the coast of Vancouver Island. The expansion will allow the fish farmer to optimize operations while it faces the closing of ocean sites, Mr. Rafferty said in the statement.
Mr. Rafferty said he is hoping to see more federal government support for salmon farming.
“I remain optimistic that, with continued co-operation with Canadian authorities and our First Nations partners, common sense will prevail and there is a future for salmon farming on Canada’s West Coast.”
Cermaq – a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. formed in 2014 – produces approximately 200,000 tonnes of salmon annually in operations that span Norway, Chile and Canada. This acquisition is expected to expand volumes to around 280,000 tonnes in the fiscal year 2027, a press release from the parent company said.
The Grieg sale follows other deals among Norwegian companies this year. In February, global salmon farming heavyweight SalMar ASA expanded production by buying AS Knutshaugfisk, a move that also led to its merger with another fish farm, Wilsgard AS. In January, fish farm giant Mowi acquired a 95-per-cent stake in Nova Sea AS in a deal valued at 7.4-billion kroner. In 2024, Mowi harvested 502,000 tonnes, a record for the company.
The transaction is subject to approval from competition bureaus. It is expected to close in the final quarter of 2025.
