Síldarvinnslan hf. has reached an agreement to purchase more than 34 percent of the shares in Norwegian salmon farming company Arctic Fish Holding AS. The Icelandic fishing company is paying almost NOK 1.1 billion (USD 113.8 million, EUR 108.1 million) for the stake.
"Salmon farming is a growing industry in Iceland which we have monitoring for a long period of time. Capital and knowledge have been increasing in the industry and we are of the opinion that there are ample opportunities,” Síldarvinnslan CEO Gunnþór Ingvason said in a statement. “We are purchasing over a third part in the company, which is in a majority ownership of a Norwegian aquaculture company with extensive knowledge and experience in the field, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to work with the current shareholders in the further growth of the company."
Ingvason said the firm “has been investing and growing in the last years and has ambitious plans for the future.”
“We see opportunities for the cooperation of aquaculture companies in the area,” Ingvason added.
Meanwhile, in a filing on the Euronext Growth market in Oslo on 10 June, 2022, Arctic Fish confirmed that three major shareholders have signed a binding share purchase agreement to sell their respective shareholdings in Arctic Fish Holding.
In the transaction, the shareholders – Bremesco Holding Ltd., Icelandic Farming Holding, NOVO, and Neil Shiran Thorisson – are selling 10,899,684 shares that represent 34.2 percent of the shares in the company. The filing advises that Bremesco is selling 9,104,582 shares, NOVO is selling 1,389,236, and Neil Shiran Thorisson is selling 335,000 shares. Neil Shiran Thorisson is a primary insider in Arctic Fish Holding.
Once the transaction concludes, these shareholders will not have any shares in Arctic Fish Holding. The transaction’s share price is NOK 100 (USD 10.34, EUR 9.83) per share.
Arctic Fish Holding owns 100 percent of shares in Arctic Fish ehf, which is producing salmon in Iceland’s Wesfjords, where it has existing fish farming licenses amounting to 27,100 metric tons (MT) maximum allowed biomass (MAB).
