Indiana Aquaculture Facility Could Start Over This Year
AquaBounty operates a facility in Albany
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Massachusetts company that last year purchased the Bell Fish Co. LLC in Albany says the indoor fish farm could begin generating revenue late next year. AquaBounty Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: AQB) says the east central Indiana operation will become the company’s first U.S. commercial production site and could begin being stocked within the next few months.
In March of last year, Texas-based private equity firm Trive Capital acquired the assets of Bell, which ran the 45-acre property that included what was considered one of the largest recirculating aquaculture system facilities in North America. AquaBounty announced its $14 million acquisition of Bell about four months later. In 2014, Bell detailed major growth plans that included a $30 million expansion and 75 jobs that didn’t fully pan out.
In a recent earnings report, AquaBounty discussed 2017 and early 2018 accomplishments, which include a $25 million equity subscription deal for more than 2.4 million shares with Intrexon Corp. Late last year, AquaBounty netted some $10.6 million from a public stock offering designed to increase liquidity. It reported a $9.3 million net loss in 2017, which it says increased compared to a 2016 net loss driven by factors including maintenance and repairs at the New Albany facility and fees related to becoming a publicly-traded company.