The BBC reports that Bakkafrost has agreed to take on 69% of the shareholding from its current owner, Northern Link.

Northern Link is reported to be backed by an investor from Ukraine.

Bakkafrost is preparing to issue a mandatory offer for the remaining freely traded equity which will force those shareholders to sell. The total cost is £517m.

The SCC operates at 60 locations and with over 600 members of staff. It is also one of the three biggest producers of farmed salmon in Scottish waters.

The purchase means the company will be de-listed from trading on the Oslo stock exchange, saving some costs at the Edinburgh headquarters.

The new owner believes that there will be substantial savings from supplying its own fish food to SSC farms. Bakkafrost wants to use the advantages of joint marketing of its Faroese produce along with that of the Scottish Salmon Company, both of which obtain premium prices.

The company also believes there will be advantages from the two parts of the business learning from each other, including methods for reducing problems such as sea lice.

Bakkafrost produced almost 45,000 tonnes of salmon in 2018 or 69% of the total in the Faroe Islands. The joint production, between the Faroes and Scotland, should make Bakkafrost the fourth largest salmon producer in Europe.

Regin Jacobsen, who has been chief executive of Bakkafrost for the past 30 years, said: “Bakkafrost’s journey has been characterised by delivering industry-leading growth and profitability combined with a focus on shareholder value creation. The Scottish Salmon Company represents an attractive acquisition at this juncture providing exposure to the attractive and premium Scottish salmon farming region with potential for synergies and transfer of best practices.”

Robert Brown, chairman of the SSC board, said the board is “pleased with the outcome” of the strategic review that led to the sale, “reflecting the value that has been created in recent years. We are proud of what we have achieved”.

Craig Anderson, the chief executive, said the management team would work closely with the new owners of the business to understand its strategic vision and implications for all SSC’s stakeholders.