Norwegian private equity fund Bluefront Equity has launched a second investment fund focused on seafood sustainability.
Bluefront’s original fund, Bluefront Capital I, was opened in 2020 by former Broodstock Capital partners Kjetil Haga and Simen Landmark, with a focus on small- and medium-sized suppliers in the sustainable seafood value chain.
On 22 April, Bluefront announced the creation of a second fund and has secured USD 50 million (EUR 46.9 million) to invest in seafood companies that offer products, services, and technology in such fields as software, fish welfare, and ocean health. Major investors such as Havfonn, the Steensland group, 3S Invest, Klaveness Marine, TD Veen, Cubera, and Cambridge Associates, each of which participated in the first fund, have committed to Bluefront Capital II as well, according to Landmark.
“We are experiencing significant interest from investors. The fact that the largest investors from our first fund choose to invest in the second fund, too, is a strong confirmation of the healthy development our first fund has seen,” Landmark said.
Bluefront said it has already started the process to deploy funds from Bluefront Capital II to engage in due diligence on several firms and expects to make an acquisition prior to the summer.
“Bluefront’s philosophy is to jointly own and develop businesses in collaboration with the company founders and current shareholders,” Haga said. “We believe the seafood industry notices that Bluefront-owned companies develop strongly and that our sector-specific approach makes us unique. Our dealflow is currently better than ever.”
In addition to the core team, the portfolio companies also benefit from access to industry advisers with extensive seafood industry experience. Bluefront’s industry advisers include former Mowi CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog, former BioMar EVP Jan Sverre Røsstad, founding partner of the venture fund Springbank Jennifer Lee Koss, and HitecVision partner Arne Trondsen.
Landmark also touted the involvement of Cambridge Associates, which has USD 569 billion (EUR 534.1 billion) worth of assets under management.
“Cambridge Associates’ due diligence process is the most thorough and rigorous we have ever experienced. We are proud to have met their stringent investment criteria,” Landmark said. “The combination of being a pure-play seafood investor and a certified sustainability fund in line with the E.U.’s comprehensive taxonomy guidelines is a good match for their profile.”
