Marine Harvest, the world’s biggest fish farmer has sold fish farms totaling £122.5 million to Cooke Aquaculture as a condition by the European Commission for its takeover of Norwegian company Marpol. The farms to be sold originally were owned by Marpol and the commission deemed the sale necessary to avoid Marine Harvest controlling 40% of the Scottish salmon industry. Marine Harvest announced that 2013 was its best year on record with record breaking revenue and operating profit including record profit for its Scottish operations which include 25 sea farms, five hatcheries, four fresh water sites, and a harvest station. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014 and Marine Harvest expects to book a gain of £30.1 million on the deal.
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