Faroe Islands-headquartered salmon farmer Bakkafrost has acquired 90 percent of the shares in Munkebo Seafood A/S in a transaction that closed on 1 January, 2022.
According to Bakkafrost, the deal was jointly made with Munkebo General Manager Michael Karlsen, with the shares acquired from Paul Lybech, who has been engaged with Munkebo Seafood for almost 25 years. Following the transaction, Karlsen holds 10 percent of the shares in Munkebo. He will continue in his role.
Since being founded in the Danish city of Munkebo in 1974, Munkebo Seafood has been engaged in the production of canned fish. The company currently operates a modern facility and offers a wide range of products, a large share of which are salmon-based.
Munkebo has around 40 employees, and its products are mainly sold within the European Union market to retail customers. It had a gross contribution margin of DKK 13.7 million (USD 2.1 million, EUR 1.8 million) in 2019, with an EBIT of DKK 2.1 million (USD 320,655, EUR 282,358), and in 2020 achieved a gross contribution margin of DKK 18.5 million (USD 2.8 million, EUR 2.5 million), with an EBIT DKK 4.8 million (USD 733,032, EUR 645,427).
For the past few years, Bakkafrost has been one of Munkebo’s largest raw materials suppliers.
Bakkafrost said that with a planned increase in production of salmon over the coming years from its farms in the Faroe Islands and in Scotland, Munkebo will have a strengthened raw material base, while Bakkafrost will be able to further increase the value derived from its salmon by-products – offering canned food in addition to its current fresh, frozen, and smoked salmon offerings.
Munkebo will also have access to Bakkafrost’s global sales network.
Prior to the acquisition, Bakkafrost had 1,644 full-time employees. The group’s total harvest guidance for 2021 is 96,000 metric tons (MT) of head-on-gutted (HOG) weight salmon.
