Lerøy Seafood Group ASA: Industry settlement in US civil anti-trust litigation

Reference is made to the previously disclosed class-action complaints in the US against Lerøy Seafood AS, Lerøy Seafood USA Inc. and five other producers and/or sellers of Norwegian salmon (together with certain of their subsidiaries) (collectively referred to as the Defendants), over claims concerning anti-competitive behavior. While all Defendants reject that there is any basis for the claims and consider the complaints to be entirely unsubstantiated, all Defendants in the US class action related to the direct purchaser case have now, following a mandatory mediation procedure, accepted a settlement offer from the direct purchaser plaintiffs subject to approval by the court of Southern District of Florida. The total settlement amount for all Defendants is USD 85 million.

All Defendants expressly reject the allegations regarding anti-competitive behavior and strongly believe that the antitrust claims lack merit. Given that the costs of litigation in the US are substantial, coupled with the timeline for any litigation and required engagement of extensive internal resources, Lerøy Seafood AS, Lerøy Seafood USA Inc. have nonetheless agreed to a settlement for pure commercial purposes. The settlement does not involve any admission of liability or wrongdoing.

The information included in this announcement is defined as inside information pursuant to article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation and is publicly disclosed in accordance with article 17 of the Market Abuse Regulation and section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

This stock exchange announcement was published by Sjur S. Malm, CFO at Lerøy Seafood Group ASA, on 25 May 2022 at 17.30 CET.