NEWS Novo Holdings agreed to acquire the leader Benchmark Genetics

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Aquaculture Magazine reports:

Novo Holdings recently announced that it has agreed to acquire the Norwegian fish genetics company Benchmark Genetics from Benchmark Holdings for an enterprise value of up to USD 329.36 million. The transaction is aligned with the Novo Holdings Planetary Health Investment team’s strategic focus on aquaculture technology to drive growth, innovation, and sustainability, complementing the recent investment in Stingray Marine Solutions. Completion is expected during the first quarter of 2025 subject to shareholder approval and receipt of customary regulatory clearances.


It is important to highlight that the shareholders representing approximately 71% of the issued ordinary share capital of Benchmark have irrevocably agreed to vote in favor of the transaction.

“We are very pleased to announce plans to acquire the Benchmark Genetics business from Benchmark Holdings. Both animal and plant genetics hold immense potential to transform the global food industry, enabling more efficient and sustainable ways to feed a growing population. In particular, advancements in aquaculture genetics, such as those in the salmon industry, present significant opportunities to improve productivity, resilience, and environmental outcomes,” said Aleks Engel, Partner, Planetary Health Investments of Novo Holdings.

Johan Hueffer, Senior Partner of Principal Investments in Novo, added: “The investment in Benchmark Genetics provides us with increased exposure to the salmon industry, which benefits from highly attractive underlying dynamics. Further it represents an opportunity to support a leading animal genetics platform with global ambitions. Partnering with an experienced management team, we are confident in the company’s ability to drive meaningful advancements in this field. At Novo Holdings we are excited to leverage our industry experience and extensive network to help realize the company’s full potential and contribute to sustainable growth in the aquaculture sector.”

Aquaculture genetics business with great potential


Headquartered in Bergen, Norway, Benchmark Genetics is a leader in salmonid genetics, providing eggs and other genetic services to both traditional and land-based farmers, operating across Norway, Iceland & Faroe Islands, Chile, and other major geographies. The company has customers in more than 50 countries and employs 270 people globally and through a global footprint in 26 countries and a broad portfolio of products and solutions, Benchmark addresses many of the major aquaculture species in all the major aquaculture regions around the world.

Trond Williksen, CEO of Benchmark, assured he is “very pleased to have signed an agreement to sell our Genetics business to Novo Holdings. Benchmark Genetics is a leading aquaculture genetics business with great potential and Novo Holdings is an excellent owner to take the business forward.”

The company’s core genetics offering drives resource-efficiency in fish and shrimp farming by addressing key production challenges including growth rates, feed conversion and disease resistance. By combining its long-established breeding programs and the latest genomic tools, Benchmark Genetics help aquaculture producers increase quality, yield, health, and animal welfare.

For his part, Geir Olav Melingen, Head of Benchmark Genetics, said: “I am very excited about the future of our business. We have a great opportunity ahead and look forward to continuing our journey with Novo Holdings bringing solutions to the aquaculture industry to improve productivity, resilience and sustainability.”

Attractive long-term returns


Novo is a holding and investment company that is responsible for managing the assets and the wealth of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. According to them, the purpose of Novo is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet by generating attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Foundation.

Wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the holding is the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk and Novonesis and manages an investment portfolio with a long-term return perspective. In addition to managing a broad portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate, infrastructure and private equity assets, Novo Holdings is a world-leading life sciences investor.

Through its Seed, Venture, Growth, Asia, Planetary Health and Principal Investments teams, Novo Holdings invests in life science companies at all stages of development. As of year-end 2023, the company had total assets of USD 157.26 billion.

Established in Denmark in 1924, the Novo Nordisk Foundation is an enterprise foundation with philanthropic objectives. Its mission is to progress research and innovation in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic and infectious diseases as well as to advance knowledge and solutions to support a green transformation of society.

The post <em>Novo Holdings</em> agreed to acquire the leader <em>Benchmark Genetics</em> appeared first on Aquaculture Magazine.

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