Nekkar and Bewi Invest have sold the Läuserock division of FiiZK to Hampidjan while they continue to restructure the larger group of FiiZK companies.
In June 2024, FiiZK Digital was sold to Bluefront Equity for an undisclosed sum. FiiZK co-owners Nekkar, a Norwegian industrial technology company, and investment group Bewi Invest are trying to rebuild the company after five of its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy in September 2023. They previously announced a plan to streamline the company under the name FiiZK Topco to focus on closed and semi-closed aquaculture equipment and technology.
“The aquaculture industry is increasingly recognizing the biological and commercial benefits that closed and semi-closed cages bring. To date, FiiZK’s cage products have successfully completed more than 70 production cycles, showing strong fish growth and no problems with lice and outbreaks. We want to build on this success,” said FiiZK CEO Jan Erik Kvingedal in a press release.
The sold business FiiZK Protection is a manufacturer of salmon louse skirts for the aquaculture sector with an estimated 80 percent market share in salmon louse skirts in Norway and sales of around NOK 100 million (USD 9.2 million, EUR 8.5 million) in 2023, according to Nekkar. The company operates primarily from a facility in Valsneset, Ørland municipality, Norway, near Trondheim, where FiiZK is based. The deal is expected to close in September 2024; terms were not disclosed.
ReykjavikThe Iceland-based Hampidjan Group is a supplier of equipment and supplies to the fishing and aquaculture sector. The company has undergone its own consolidation when it merged the activities of Mørenot Scotland into its subsidiary Vónin UK in January 2024, following the acquisition of the Mørenot Group in December 2022.
“We are very pleased that FiiZK Protection will become part of the Hampidjan Group and see the purchase as an important step in the further development of our services to the aquaculture sector, as we already have a very strong presence in aquaculture in many parts of the world, especially in the North Atlantic,” said Hjörtur Erlendsson, CEO of Hampidjan. “Now we can offer fish farming companies an even wider range of products and services, further strengthening Hampidjan’s position in this important market.”
Erlendsson said he was pleased to add FiiZK Protection’s earnings and 18 percent EBITDA ratio to Hampidjan’s annual financials, which include total revenues of 322 million euros ($351 million) in 2023.
FiiZK Protection will be renamed after the transaction is completed. Thirty of its employees, mainly in Valsneset but also some in Trondheim, will be transferred to Hampidjan, while FiiZK’s Mjåtveit location and its 20 employees will remain part of FiiZK.
The factory, which produces technical textiles, including tarpaulins for closed and semi-closed fish cages, will be transferred to FiiZK group company FiiZK Industries AS prior to completion of the share purchase, according to Nekkar CEO and FiiZK Chairman Ole Falk Hansen.
“Our facility in Mjåtveit plays a key role in producing materials for our semi-enclosed and closed fish cages, so retaining this business supports FiiZK’s strategic direction,” said Hansen.
Sea lice skirts prevent lice larvae from entering salmon net pens. These are usually custom-made fabric covers that extend 10 to 15 meters below the sea surface, where sea lice larvae can live. The skirts also protect against micro jellyfish, which can also be harmful to salmon.
“With this purchase, Hampidjan further strengthens its product offering for aquaculture companies and can leverage FiiZK Protection’s knowledge and experience to offer new and excellent solutions in the fight against lice in aquaculture,” said Erlendsson. “The purchase also enables Hampidjan to sell FiiZK Protection’s lice apron products in the countries where Hampidjan already operates, and Hampidjan sees great opportunities to increase sales of lice aprons in these markets.”
