Iceland-based seafood company Brim has acquired the assets of Icelandic aquaculture firm Matorka, the company announced.
Grindavik, Iceland-based Matorka is a land-based Arctic char-farming company that declared bankruptcy in early November, according to Icelandic media reports. The bankruptcy was related to disruptions caused by earthquakes in November 2023, according to the publication.
Matorka’s land-based facilities, as well as the nearby town of Grindavik, were both hit by several hundred seismic events in late 2023, which were followed up by a volcanic eruption on 18 December 2023. Matorka CEO Christo du Plessis told SeafoodSource soon after that the company's facility experienced structural damage as a result of those quakes.
“The geological events that happened around Grindavík in the past few weeks were a once-in-2,000-year event and something completely new,” du Plessis said at the time.
He later told SeafoodSource that those earthquakes hadn’t disrupted the company’s growth plans. However, they ended up causing enough of an issue to result in severe financial difficulties for the firm.
Brim said it has purchased all the assets of the company following the bankruptcy and said it intends to build on the existing knowledge and facilities Matorka has already in place, with an estimated future production next year of 1,000 metric tons of whole Arctic char.
“The acquisition creates an opportunity to utilize Brim's extensive knowledge and experience in food processing and marketing and sales in international markets,” Brim said in a press release. “The acquisition is subject to customary conditions, such as approval from the Icelandic Competition Authority and obtaining the required licenses for the operations.”
