DNV, a Norwegian risk management company, has acquired a majority stake in Chilean engineering and inspection company Aqualis.
DNV is an independent assurance and risk management company, which works in the aquaculture space through a portfolio of different assurance, advisory, and digital services with expertise in fish health, certification, and more. The company said the acquisition of Aqualis strengthens its position and expands its ability to help aquaculture clients meet regulatory requirements “through assurance of their critical assets.”
"Chile is one of the world's most important aquaculture producers and continues to play a leading role in the industry's development," DNV CEO of Life Sciences Geir Fuglerud said in a release. "As regulatory expectations continue to evolve, producers increasingly need assurance partners that combine technical expertise, operational scale, and digital innovation. Robust infrastructure assurance underpins sustainable operations, supports fish welfare, and helps build confidence across the aquaculture value chain.”
Fuglerud said Aqualis “has built an impressive reputation” in its role in Chile, helping aquaculture producers in the country. DNV said the company has created a scalable aquaculture inspection and certification business in Chile, which will be essential under regulatory scrutiny and an increased need for transparency in the industry.
"Effective infrastructure assurance is about much more than meeting regulatory requirements,” DNV International Business Development Lead Rikard Albrigtsen said. “It provides operators with confidence that critical assets are performing as intended while giving them the insight needed to manage risk proactively. We can help producers make better-informed decisions, strengthen asset integrity, and support safe, reliable operations throughout the life cycle of their farms."
Aqualis said it aims to be an engineering service company that partners with its aquaculture clients to ensure security, and it has created a platform to manage information from each of the inspections it performs on company infrastructure. The company has also designed and constructed naval structures and has been working in the spce for more than 30 years.
Aqualis Managing Director Nicolas Mayer-Rechnitz de Petris said joining together with DNV is a milestone for the company.
"Since our establishment, our ambition has been to deliver a more transparent approach to aquaculture infrastructure assurance,” he said. “Becoming part of DNV allows us to build on that vision by combining our local expertise with DNV's global assurance experience, creating even greater value for customers as regulatory expectations continue to evolve."
The exact terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
According to its most recent financial report for the first half of 2026, DNV Group posted NOK 17.4 billion (USD 1.8 billion, EUR 1.6 billion) in revenue and achieved an EBITDA of NOK 2.9 billion (USD 303.5 million, EUR 272.8 million) in the same period.
