Iceland Seafood agrees to acquire Icelandic Iberica

Iceland Seafood International (ISI) has agreed on principal terms to acquire Solo Seafood, the sole owner of Icelandic Iberica in Spain.

With the long-term addition of ISI shareholders of FISK Seafood, Jakob Valgeir and Nesfiskur, the group will become a fully integrated leader in the global seafood industry.

The integrated firms will serve more than 3,000 customers in more than 45 countries across nine production facilities.

Solo Seafood is owned by Iceland-based investment company Sjávarsýn, as well as Icelandic Iberica’s managing director, FISK Seafood, Jakob Valgeir and Nesfiskur.

Icelandic Iberica is said to be one of the most important seafood companies in the South European market, offering an extensive product range that includes cod (bacalao), Argentinian shrimp, cuttlefish, and hake. It also owns a processing facility in Spain and Argentina.

ISI has reportedly proposed to issue 1.047 million new shares in its own company as a consideration for executing the acquisition.

Completion of the deal is subject to approval by the shareholders of ISI and competition approval in Spain and Iceland.

ISI CEO Helgi Anton Eiríksson said: “This will be a transformational step for ISI as we will welcome three of Iceland’s major seafood players into the shareholding group of ISI creating an integrated supply chain through to the end customer.

“At the same time, we continue our strategy of investing in strong, well positioned, value-added businesses creating, synergies and new business opportunities at ISI across Europe and globally.”

The acquisition is part of the ISI strategy, which focuses on strong value-added companies in key markets.

Upon completion, ISI will be operating nine value-added factories across seven countries.

Solo Seafood chair Bjarni Ármannsson said: “With both Icelandic Iberica and ISI having strong roots in the Icelandic seafood industry, we are pleased with this step in joining our two groups to leverage our sourcing, distribution and production capabilities to the benefit of our customers and suppliers.

“We look forward to integrating our experienced teams, as well as becoming shareholders within ISI. The Solo Seafood shareholders look forward to supporting the further development of ISI.”