Icelandic seafood company Brim has bought a 10.83% share in Iceland Seafood International (ISI), RÚV reports. The purchase entails the entire share of Bjarni Ármannsson’s company Sjávarsýn in ISI. Bjarni is also the CEO of Iceland Seafood but is resigning from the position.
Even prior to the sale, Brim was one of Iceland’s largest and most profitable seafood companies. With this purchase, the company intends to strengthen its sales network in Europe. The sale was announced to the stock exchange last night, as both Brim and Iceland Seafood are listed on Nasdaq Iceland’s main market. Brim paid over ISK 1.6 billion [$11.7 million, €11 million] for the shares.
Sold for one thousand pounds after losses
Iceland Seafood has faced difficulties in operations recently. The company sustained considerable losses in the operations of its subsidiary Iceland Seafood UK, which was eventually sold to the Danish company Espersen for the small sum of one thousand pounds. Iceland Seafood’s loss in the first half of the year amounted to ISK 2.2 billion [$16 million, €15.1 million].
The share price in Iceland Seafood last weekend stood at ISK 5.3 [$0.04, €0.04] per share and had never been lower since the company went public four years ago. The price rose by 4.72% at the opening of the market this morning in a transaction worth ISK 22 million [$160,000, €151,000].
Brim to strengthen sales network
Iceland Seafood is one of the main exporters of seafood in Iceland and operates offices in seven countries in Europe, North America, and South America. According to Brim’s CEO Guðmundur Kristjánsson, this is exactly what Brim is looking for with the purchase. The goal is to strengthen Brim’s sales network, especially with regard to markets in Europe.
Bjarni Ármannsson will step down as Iceland Seafood’s CEO and will be replaced by Ægir Páll Friðbertsson, managing director of Brim.
43% of Iceland’s exported goods
The Icelandic seafood industry is one of the country’s key industries, employing around 7,500 people or approximately 3.9% of the workforce. The seafood industry contributes around 8% directly to Iceland’s GDP, but its indirect contributions are much greater. Marine products account for 43% of the value of Iceland’s exported goods.
Consolidated wealth
Just four companies hold around 60% of Iceland’s fishing quota: Samherji, Brim, KS, and Ísfélagið. In 2021, Brim reported profits of ISK 11.3 billion [$88.8 million; €82.9 million].
In a column published in Morgunblaðið last year, Minister of Fisheries Svandís Svavarsdóttir stated that the nation viewed the consolidation of fishing quota in so few hands as deeply unjust and that it felt that this collective resource was not distributed fairly.
Opposition MP and former Social-Democratic Alliance Chairman Logi Einarsson pointed out that the wealth in the fishing industry was leading to accumulated assets in unrelated sectors, such as the media, real estate, transport, grocery stores, energy, and even insurance and banking.
