SAMHERJI GROUP BUYS MORE SHARES IN NERGÅRD AS
Norsk Sjømat has increased its stake to 60,1 percent in the Norwegian fishery group Nergård. Samherji has at the same time increased its stake to 39,9 percent. The companies are looking to invest in processing, manufacturing and development of new whitefish products in Northern Norway.
Nergård is an integrated fishery group whose business activities include catching, processing and sales. The company is Northern Norway’s second-largest in this field. It has more than 470 employees, and 92 percent of them reside in Northern Norway. Norsk Sjømat has been a co-owner of Nergård since 2010 and controlled about 42 percent of the company before the new acquisition. Samherji became a co-owner in 2014 and controlled 22 percent in total.
- We want Nergård AS to develop from being a supplier of raw materials and semi-finished products to becoming a manufacturer of finished products. A lot of this value added processing will take place in Northern Norway. Our position is that processing and manufacturing as close to the source of raw materials as possible is key to delivering the world's best products, says CEO of Norsk Sjømat, Per Magne Grøndahl.
Norsk Sjømat is based in Stranda in Sunnmøre county and has more than 300 employees there. The company has more than 30 years’ experience in the fish processing industry. Their recipe for success has been high product yield in the processing of salmon and the continuous development of new products. Now, this experience and expertise will help to develop similar solutions for the processing of whitefish.
- Salmon companies used to be the only ones who could offer stable fish deliveries throughout the year. We see a lot of opportunities in how Nergård has set up their infrastructure to now be able to deliver fresh cod 365 days a year. Soon Nergård will, for example, be able to offer cod with sashimi quality. That will literally open a whole new world for cod products, Grøndahl says.
- Makes us all stronger
- We are proud of what we and Nergård have accomplished together. We have worked with these two other companies for several years now, and they have clearly shown that they are committed and willing to take Nergård to the next level. At the same time, we have been wanting to move our focus towards other business areas, says Arne Stang, who controlled a majority stake in the company before the new agreement.
Samherji is one of the leading companies in the European fish industry. They have been an important partner for Nergård in the effort to offer fresh cod all year round. Samherji has been in the forefront of value added processing and operates two filet factories in Akureyri and Dalvik. These factories are operated all year round on raw materials from their own trawlers and the coastal fleet. They process around 30,000 tonnes of raw material into high quality fillet products sold worldwide. The focus is on fresh sold products and fully utilizing the raw materials.
- Nergard is a leading company in Northern Norway and we look forward to cooperating with Norsk Sjømat to make a good company even better and stronger. We believe that Samherji's knowledge and strategy will help Nergård become a more vertically integrated company with a special focus on value added processing and sustainability. We believe that this change will bring Nergård closer to its goal of being a catch-to-plate provider, says CEO of Samherji, Thorsteinn Mar Baldwinnsson.
- Share the same core values
Nergårds management also have great expectation for the future.
- We have had close ties and cooperation with both Norsk Sjømat and Samherji for several years now. They are companies who work wholeheartedly and thoroughly with the development of seafood products. The increased focus on manufacturing and finished products will be a further boost for us and the values we create throughout the entire region, says Nergård CEO, Tommy Torvanger.
The acquisition must still be approved by the Norwegian authorities. The companies will not disclose further details about the financial terms of the agreement now.
Contacts:
Norsk Sjømat AS
Per Magne Grøndahl, CEO
E-mail: jg@norsksjomat.no
Phone: +47 70 26 88 80
Nergård AS:
Tommy Torvanger, CEO
E-mail: tommy.torvanger@nergard.no
Phone: +47 90 09 89 61
