Nordic Halibut has acquired seafood processing company Pure Norwegian Seafood (PNS) from Måsøval, following a resolution in a dispute between Måsøval and PNS over illegal sales of salmon.
Nordic Halibut announced the purchase on the Oslo Børs, saying the purchase follows on a 12 March 2025 option agreement made with Måsøval to acquire PNS. That earlier agreement also granted Nordic Halibut the right to use PNS’ processing facilities in Averoy, and the company said it has now followed through on the purchase following utilizing those facilities.
“The company currently has a commercial relationship with PNS under the customer agreement, and the acquisition will provide the company with full control over the processing facility and related operations,” Nordic Halibut said.
The acquisition follows a dispute between Måsøval and PNS over the sale of frozen salmon that the company said was in violation of both company protocols and Norwegian law.
The dispute in 2024 stemmed from Måsøval – which has owned 65 percent of PNS since 2021 – discovered what it called irregularities in the company’s operations. The investigation found PNS allegedly exported between 400 and 500 metric tons (MT) of farmed salmon that was legally required to be discarded.
In its own release to the Oslo Børs, Måsøval said it, PNS, and the minority shareholders in PNS reached an “amicable solution” in the dispute.
“The settlement entails that all disputes between all parties have been resolved, and that the cases between Måsøval and the minority shareholders, as well as Pure Norwegian Seafood and the minority shareholders, respectively, are closed,” the company said. "The settlement has been entered into after dialogue between the parties. The content of the settlement agreement is confidential. The court cases between the parties will be concluded in accordance with the settlement.”
Nordic Halibut said the acquisition of PNS is the final step in it achieving control over its entire value chain, from initial genetics through to harvesting, processing, and value-added production of its halibut products. It called the acquisition an “important factor” in its planned scale-up of production to 10,350 MT of head-on, gutted halibut by 2031.
