Billionaire-backed investor signals move from aquaculture tech to farms.
Private equity capital linked to the Walton family may soon move directly into aquaculture production.
Speaking during an investor panel at the North Atlantic Seafood Forum in Bergen on Wednesday, Larsen Mettler of S2G Investments said the firm is preparing to move beyond aquaculture technology investments and into production companies.
Chicago-based S2G Investments was founded by Walmart heir Lukas Walton, grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton, and manages roughly $2.5 billion across investments in food and agriculture, oceans and energy.
“We want to have a meaningful stake in companies, and that is why we haven’t gone into production,” Mettler said.
“But we are now investing in another firm that will allow us to do that.”
S2G has previously concentrated on aquaculture technology and supply chain companies rather than farming operations themselves. According to Mettler, those investments often centred on platform technologies that support the sector and carry less downside risk than direct production exposure.
However, the firm now expects to make one or two production investments in the coming year.
“Overall production investments are on the table and we hope to make one or two this year,” he said.
Mettler said the firm’s investment decisions depend on having sufficient data to understand biological and operational risks.
“As investors we don’t need industries that are risk-free, but we do need risks that are understandable and manageable,” he said. “We can’t do that without the data.”
Despite regulatory limits in Norway, he said the long-term outlook for aquaculture remains strong.
“Seafood is going to continue to grow,” he said. “Growth could be regional. In Norway we are starting to see limits and restrictions. We need to maximise the value of the resource.”
He added that Norway is likely to become an increasingly important exporter of aquaculture technology as the sector expands globally.
The investor discussion was moderated by Carl-Emil Johannessen of Pareto Securities.