Icelandic seafood company Samherji has acquired a 49% stake in the Norwegian production company Berg LipidTech AS in Ålesund.
Berg LipidTech produces fish oil for the wholesale market, mainly from cod liver and salmon, and sells its products worldwide.
According to Samherji, the acquisition creates opportunities for further processing of its byproducts while strengthening Berg LipidTech’s competitiveness through a more stable supply of quality raw materials.
The investment will move Samherji further up the seafood value chain, it said.
In conjunction with the acquisition of a 49% stake in Berg LipidTech, Samherji acquires an option to buy the company’s remaining share capital.
Samherji CEO Baldvin Thorsteinsson said the investment in Berg LipidTech aligns well with Samherji’s core business.
“We see significant opportunities with this investment. It has been Samherji’s policy to maximise value from the raw materials in our operations. We foresee that this investment will support that objective, as there is increased global demand for fish oil products with high Omega-3 content. We believe Berg LipidTech has room for significant growth, considering the company’s technologically advanced production facility and experienced and talented employees with whom we look forward to collaborating,” he said.
Berg LipidTech was founded in 1993. Its current owners and main management will stay with the company, and its operating locations will remain unchanged.
As a minority shareholder, Samherji will appoint board members and support executives in harnessing the company’s growth opportunities. The work will be carried out according to a joint business plan that utilises the company’s strengths for further expansion.
Staale Berg, CEO of Berg LipidTech said the deal represented a perfect industrial fit.
“Samherji is a strong and experienced industrial owner, and their access to important raw materials will give us a unique vertical integration that is not typical for companies in our line of business. This partnership will create new opportunities for continued growth and development,” he said.
