The Merkur Market, launched in 2015, is an alternative marketplace offering companies the ability to improve the visibility of their shares and have the opportunity to raise equity capital. It allows firms access to simple and transparent share trading, but without them having to take the major step involved in seeking a listing on a regulated market or stock exchange.
The Merkur listing is a staging post to a listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange within Q1 2021, said its owners, Aker ASA and Aker Capital last Friday [June 19].
“We were oversubscribed during the first day of the launch [of the private share sale],” Katrin Berntsen, spokesperson, Aker BioMarine, told FeedNavigator today.
Arctic Securities, DNB Markets and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) were appointed joint bookmakers for the planned transaction and listing of shares on Oslo’s Merkur Market trading platform.
Growth ambitions
In terms of taking the decision now to list, Berntsen said Aker BioMarine was experiencing increased interest in the capital markets.
“After years of significant investments to build the scale and the predictability we have today, the company is in a position to broaden its investor base. The listing will provide Aker BioMarine with a strengthened financial position, more growth opportunities and a diversified shareholder base.”
Aker BioMarine is a marine ingredients company built on Aker’s core competency within fishery, selling its krill-based products to the aquaculture feed, human supplements and pet food industries, both as ingredients to industry-leading brands, or directly with products under its own brand.
The company is aiming to quadruple its EBITDA within five years to US$200 million by increasing production capacity and adding new products.
When asked where the biggest percentage of that growth is going to come from, Berntsen remarked:
“Aker BioMarine operates in markets with significant growth potential and the company targets 20–30% organic revenue growth over 2021-2022, on the back of recent capacity increases and a medium-term growth target of 10–15% per year.
“Aker BioMarine consists of two business areas, ingredients and brands. Ingredients today represents approximately 70% of the revenues, while brands represents about 30% of the revenues in 2019. Over the next five years, the company targets an approximate 50/50 split between brands and ingredients.”
