Iceland Seafood International Hf. Agrees On The Principal Terms To Acquire Icelandic Iberica 

Iceland Seafood International is delighted to announce its intent to purchase Icelandic Iberica with the view of building on the combined groups' Icelandic heritage.

With the new long term ISI shareholders of FISK Seafood, Jakob Valgeir and Nesfiskur the Group becomes a fully integrated seafood player.

The integrated companies will serve over 3000 customers in more than 45 countries owning 9 production facilities.

Iceland Seafood International hf (ISI) has today agreed heads of terms to acquire Solo Seafood ehf. which is the sole owner of Icelandic Iberica in Spain.  Solo Seafood is a company owned by Sjávarsýn, an investment company in Iceland and Icelandic Iberica's Managing Director, FISK Seafood, Jakob Valgeir and Nesfiskur.  The three mentioned seafood companies hold a significant percentage of the national fishing quotas in Iceland. The combined vendor group will become long-term shareholders of ISI.  

Icelandic Iberica is one of the leading seafood companies in the South European market with turnover of €120m and pre-tax profits in excess of €4 million with a projected 2018 outturn of more than €4.7M at pre-tax level. With its extensive product range including cod (bacalao), Argentinian shrimp, cuttlefish and hake and processing capacity in Spain and Argentina, the company has seen strong growth in sales and profit in the last few years.

The acquisition produces in combination a Group with sales of more than €400m delivering in excess of €10m in proforma pre-tax profits for 2018 with material synergy benefits within the combined business to be added.  In addition, with direct raw material access resulting from the vertical integration and control of over 40 thousand tonnes of quota the group sales and profit growth are anticipated to benefit significantly in the years to come.

With this acquisition Iceland Seafood International continues its strategy of acquiring strong value-added companies in key markets.   On completion of the transaction Iceland Seafood International will operate 9 value added factories in 7 country locations.  The ISI shareholding of Fisk Seafood, Jakob Valgeir and Nesfiskur, all major players in the Icelandic seafood industry with combined over 10% of the Icelandic quota and 8 factory operations in Iceland creates a fully integrated seafood group serving over 45 countries and more than 3000 customers around the  world.

It is proposed that the consideration will be settled by issuance of 1.047m new shares in ISI. Completion of the proposed transaction is subject to certain conditions, including the conclusion of appropriate due diligence review by the parties, required approval by the shareholders of ISI, definitive documentation of the transaction and competition approval in Spain and/or Iceland (if required).

Helgi Anton Eiríksson – CEO of Iceland Seafood International

"This will be a transformational step for Iceland Seafood International 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."

Benedikt Sveinsson – Chairman of Iceland Seafood International

"We look forward to welcoming this strong producer group and Icelandic Iberica into the ISI family combining these two long-standing Icelandic companies into one of the strongest seafood groups in Iceland to further penetrate the Spanish and European markets. This acquisition follows our strategy at ISI to focus on efficiency and profitable growth, by investing in our networks, our value added activities and seeking opportunities to deliver value.

Hjörleifur Ásgeirsson – Managing Director of Icelandic Iberica

"It is exciting for us at Icelandic Iberica to join Iceland Seafood International to become a leading provider of seafood products through our strong businesses in Europe. Our objective is to be at the forefront with high quality seafood to serve our markets, both existing and new customers.

Bjarni Ármannsson – Chairman of Solo Seafood

 "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 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 support the further development of ISI"

About Iceland Seafood International

Tracing its roots to 1932, ISI is a worldwide sales, processing and marketing company for frozen, salted and fresh seafood. Headquartered in Reykjavik with operations in seven countries and processing facilities in Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom, ISI is a publicly traded company with its shares listed on Nasdaq First North Iceland and generates annual sales of ca €300m across 45 countries.

Mar Advisors, led by Magnús Bjarnason, advised Solo Seafood on the transaction and Kvika Banki advised ISI.

Source: Iceland Seafood International