Høvik, Norway-based independent risk assurance and management firm DNV announced it has reached an agreement to purchase a majority stake in Chilean aquaculture consultancy firm Aquabench.
According to DNV, the acquisition will enable Aquabench to streamline the development of innovative services in areas including biosecurity, environmental analytics, sustainability, and fish health, incorporating knowledge sharing and the development of international best practices to help address common problems in the Chilean aquaculture industry.
DNV also said the agreement should help Aquabench further digitize its data and advanced analytics, which will be key in speeding up processes. To that end, the investment is also expected to support the further development of Salmobench – Aquabench’s digital intelligence platform.
“Aquabench has built a unique position based on trust, data, and deep industry knowledge. By combining the company's local expertise and insight with DNV’s global capabilities, we see significant opportunities to accelerate innovation, digitalization, and knowledge-sharing for the benefit of customers in Chile and abroad,” DNV International Business Development Lead Rikard Albrigtsen said.
Describing why it pursued Aquabench in particular, DNV highlighted Aquabench’s standing in the aquaculture industry as a neutral and collaborative information platform constructed on a robust database of production, environmental, and fish health data. DNV CEO of Life Sciences Geir Fuglerud further underlined Chile being one of the world’s most important aquaculture markets as the world’s second-largest salmon producer, adding that the investment in Aquabench reflects DNV’s long-term commitment to supporting sustainable industry development.
“Aquaculture companies are facing increasingly stringent requirements related to traceability, sustainability, and operational efficiency. This investment gives us the opportunity to strengthen our role as an independent knowledge partner and offer the industry increasingly digital, precise, and future-oriented solutions,” Aquabench General Manager Joel Leal said.
The investment is the latest acquisition DNV has pursued in the South American country, as it comes on the heels of DNV’s announcement that it had acquired a majority stake in Chilean engineering and inspection company Aqualis.
“Both investments reflect DNV’s long-term commitment to Chile’s aquaculture industry, strengthening its capabilities in infrastructure assurance, industry insight, and digital decision support,” DNV said.
DNV operates in more than 100 countries with a focus on fish health, environmental services, certification, life extension of aquaculture assets, technical verification of emerging technologies, and data, traceability, analytics, and decision-making support. It posted NOK 17.4 billion (USD 1.8 billion, EUR 1.6 billion) in revenue and achieved EBITDA of NOK 2.9 billion (USD 303.5 million, EUR 272.8 million) in the first half of 2026.
