Lerøy Seafood to acquire stake in Rode

Norway-based Lerøy Seafood Group (LSG) has entered an agreement to buy 50.1% of shares in Rode Beheer, a leading producer of processed seafood in the Netherlands, in a deal worth €15m ($21.01m).

Following the purchase, LSG will operate plants in the Netherlands, in addition to its existing plants in Norway, Sweden and Turkey, and will have a total production capacity of over 12,000t of seafood.

LSG said in a statement that Rode, with its well established customer network within European grocery chains, as well as airline and other large-scale catering operations, fits well with LSG’s strategy to develop the group’s global sales network.

Rode, which produces a wide range of smoked, marinated, frozen and freshly packed products of Norwegian salmon, posted a turnover of €50.6m ($70.90m) with an operating profit of €3.9m ($5.46m) in 2010.

The deal is subject to board approval.