AquaBounty Technologies has agreed to sell its recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility in the U.S. state of Indiana to Superior Fresh.
The company, in an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said that AquaBounty Farms Indiana and AquaBounty Farms Ohio – both subsidiaries of AquaBounty Technologies – entered an asset purchase agreement with Superior Fresh on 28 June. The agreement will see Superior Fresh acquire AquaBounty’s Albany, Indiana-based RAS facility and equipment for USD 9.5 million (EUR 8.8 million).
According to the filing, the sale is expected to close some time in July, “subject to various closing conditions.”
AquaBounty bought the Indiana aquaculture facility from Bell Fish Company in 2017. At the time, it paid USD 14 million (then EUR 12.5 million) in cash and said it planned to produce its genetically engineered salmon inside the facility.
Seven years on, the company announced it planned to sell the facility in a bid to secure financing for its near- and long-term needs, including funding to construct a planned RAS facility in Pioneer, Ohio, U.S.A. The company broke ground in April 2022 but later announced in June 2023 it was pausing construction, as costs ballooned from the initial estimate of USD 200 million (EUR 186 million) to as high as USD 395 million (EUR 368 million).
“Making the decision to sell our Indiana farm was a difficult one for us. We have built a strong operation there with a passionate and experienced team, and I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our team members in Indiana for the job they have done over the last eight years to transform the facility and create a well-run operation,” then-AquaBounty CEO Sylvia Wulf – who was replaced in early June by David Melbourne – said at the time.
The company harvested all the remaining fish in the facility in Q1 2024 – a move that impacted its Q1 2024 results.
With the sale of the facility closing in, the company said it plans to ...
