Icelandic fishing company Síldarvinnslan hf (SVN) has completed the 50% purchase of seafood sales firm Ice Fresh Seafood, concluding negotiations that were first announced at the end of March this year.
The transaction values Ice Fresh Seafood at around €42.9 million, which is equivalent to 1.76 times the book value of its equity on 31 December 2022. The transaction consists of the purchase of existing shares from Samherji hf for €10.7 million and the issue of €21.5 million worth of new shares in Ice Fresh Seafood.
The total value of Ice Fresh Seafood will be €64.4 million after the share capital increase and SVN’s investment of €32.2 million.
“Investment in Ice Fresh Seafood is made in order to strengthen the company’s sales and marketing and is a logical continuation of the development that has taken place within Síldarvinnslan hf in recent years and appears, among other things, in the purchase of Vísi hf in Grindavík last year. For many years, Ice Fresh Seafood has been a leader in the sale and marketing of Icelandic seafood. With this business, Síldarvinnslan is getting further in the value chain of the fishing industry and closer to the consumers of the products we produce. There are certain attacking opportunities in that,” SVN CEO Gunnthór Ingvason said.
Along with this transaction, Ice Fresh Seafood will complete the purchase of holdings in foreign sales companies with which the company has had a successful business relationship in recent years. These comprise a half share in Seagold Ltd in the UK, a 100% holding in Ice Fresh Seafood SAS in France, 67% of the shares in Ice Fresh Seafood Spain SL and a half share in Aquanor Marketing Inc in the US for a total €13.9 million.
The value of the four companies in this transaction is 1.37 times the book value of their equity at the end of 2022. The companies were previously part of the group Samherji Holding ehf and the transaction has been worked on since the end of 2022.
Ice Fresh Seafood will then complete the purchase of a half share in the sales company Cabo Norte SA in Spain for €4.9 million.
Founded in 2007, Ice Fresh Seafood’s turnover in 2022 totalled €337 million, while the turnover of the foreign sales companies totalled €194 million. The combined turnover, taking into account sales between companies, was €485 million. The combined EBITDA of the companies was €6.7 million adjusted for one-off costs at Ice Fresh Seafood due to the war in Ukraine.
SVN said the investment in Ice Fresh Seafood is in line with its policy of seizing growth opportunities that are offered and contributing to increased risk diversification and profitability in operations.
Ice Fresh Seafood is fully-owned by Samherji, which is also the owner of a 30.06% share in SVN.
