The announcement follows the General Meeting on 18 December 2014 at which all resolutions regarding the placing of additional shares in the company to fund the proposed acquisitions were passed.
The double acquisition, which is in line with the company’s stated strategy to become a world-leading player in the development of a sustainable food chain, brings together the second and third-ranked international salmon breeding companies.
The Directors believe the two acquisitions to be transformative when put side by side, creating the foundations of a global business at the forefront of salmon genetics and primary breeding.
Combining the strengths of Stofnfiskur and SalmoBreed brings together multi-decade development of genetics with multi-decade development of salmon egg production technology, as well as leveraging Stofnfiskur’s land-based bio-secure facilities in order to produce very high quality salmon eggs all year round.
With salmon consumption growing at seven per cent per annum and supply currently at three to five per cent - there is an opportunity to grow this business dynamically in the near-term.
As salmon production rises, more sustainable farming practices are needed and the use of genetics to breed robust salmon will play a key role in this. It will also require innovation in vaccine and drug development combined with genetics to tackle the growing number of salmon diseases and the development of more sustainable and ethical farming systems and practices.
Speaking from Reykjavik Iceland, Benchmark Chief Executive Officer, Malcolm Pye, said: “Through the integration of SalmoBreed and Stofnfiskur, Benchmark will be able to deliver all of the above, with the potential to replicate this model across a number of other aquatic species in a sustainable manner.
“This is a pivotal development for Benchmark, taking us into the arena of animal breeding and genetics. We are delighted to be officially welcoming the SalmoBreed and Stofnfiskur teams to the Group.”
