The Reykjavik-headquartered Icelandic Group has signed an agreement to sell its Spanish subsidiary, Icelandic Ibérica, to Solo Seafood for an undisclosed sum. Hjörleifur Ásgeirsson, who has served as its chief executive officer for the past 20 years, will maintain his position after the acquisition is finalized.
The company’s primary brand, Icelandic Seafood, is not included in the transaction. However, a licensing arrangement was signed granting Solo Seafood exclusive utilization rights to the Icelandic Seafood brand in Southern Europe.
Solo Seafood is owned by Icelandic companies that are among Icelandic Ibérica’s main suppliers. They include Fisk-Seafood, Jakob Valgeir and Nesfiskur.
Since Icelandic Ibérica was put up for sale last spring, multiple parties reportedly expressed an interest in buying the company. The purchase agreement is subject to approval from the Central Bank of Iceland and the Spanish Competition Authorities.
“We are pleased with the result and believe that ownership by Icelandic producers provides an opportunity to further increase the value of seafood originating from Iceland sold under our established Icelandic Seafood brand,” said Herdís Dröfn Fjeldsted, chairman of the Icelandic Group’s board of directors and chief executive officer of the Enterprise Investment Fund.
About Icelandic Ibérica
As one of four subsidiaries of the Icelandic Group, Icelandic Ibérica ranks among the largest distributors of lightly salted cod from Iceland, as well as other frozen marine products. The company sells seafood to more than 4,000 customers in five countries in Southern Europe, employs approximately 140 people and generated sales of over EUR 100 million in 2015.
About Icelandic Group
The Icelandic Group is a holding company for subsidiaries in Britain, Belgium, Spain and Iceland, all of which specialize in the production and sale of seafood. Turnover last year amounted to approximately EUR 500 million.
A new subsidiary of the group, ITH (Icelandic Trademark Holding), is the registered owner of the Icelandic and Icelandic Seafood brands. ITH manages all marketing for them in addition to providing various services to the license holders and other producers in Iceland.
In the United States the company has a partnership with High Liner Foods, a license holder for the brand, selling products to hotels and restaurants under the established Icelandic Seafood label.
The Enterprise Investment Fund (EIF) has a 100% shareholding in the Icelandic Group. EIF owns sixteen Icelandic pension funds, Landsbankinn hf. and VÍS hf.
