Brim approves Lýsi takeover, Iceland seafood assets shift across North Atlantic, competition review now decides

• Brim says it will buy all shares in Lýsi for ISK 20 billion, paid half in cash and half in Brim shares priced at ISK 85.
• The revised price is down from the ISK 30 billion offer agreed in September, after renegotiation that took interest-bearing debt into account.
• At the same time, Brim plans to sell its 43% stake in Melnes to KG Fiskverkun and its 50% stake in Polar Seafood Denmark to Polar Seafood Greenland.
• The Lýsi transaction still requires approval from Brim shareholders and the Icelandic Competition Authority.

Brim’s board has approved a bid to buy all shares in Lýsi for ISK 20 billion, according to RÚV reports. The Reykjavík-listed fishing company announced the decision on Saturday evening together with two asset sales, one in Iceland and one tied to Denmark and Greenland. The combined package turns a single acquisition into a wider reshuffle of ownership in the North Atlantic seafood trade.

The Lýsi offer had been accepted in September subject to board approval at both companies, a shareholder meeting at Brim and clearance from the Icelandic Competition Authority. At that point the price was ISK 30 billion. Brim now says the parties renegotiated the price and payment terms to reflect interest-bearing debt, cutting the headline value by ISK 10 billion. Half of the purchase price will be paid in cash and half in Brim shares, valued at ISK 85 per share, with settlement due once public approvals are in place.

That share element matters because it changes who owns Brim after the deal closes. The company said the equity portion corresponds to about 6% of its total share capital. RÚV reports that shareholders in the transaction are being offered Brim shares with nominal value of ISK 70 million, while an authorization granted at Brim’s annual meeting earlier this year limits aggregate purchases to no more than 10% of the company’s total share capital at any given time. Cash leaves the balance sheet; new shares spread ownership more widely unless existing holders buy more to keep their stake.

Brim paired the takeover with disposals. It said it will sell its 43% stake in the fishing company Melnes to KG Fiskverkun in Rif for ISK 1.8 billion, with payment made in Brim equity. KG has already been one of Brim’s largest shareholders. Brim also said it will sell its 50% stake in the Danish company Polar Seafood Denmark to Greenlandic buyer Polar Seafood Greenland for DKK 925 million, subject to financing and regulatory approval.

The result is a cleaner concentration around higher-value marine products at home, while peripheral holdings are converted into cash, shares or both. Lýsi is not a trawler company but a marine-products business built on fish oils and related goods, which gives Brim a different position in the export chain than quota and catch volumes alone. The Competition Authority will have to decide whether that broadens an Icelandic export group or tightens control over another profitable corner of the sector. The revised deal price is lower than in September, but the ownership map around Brim would still look different: more Lýsi inside the company, less Denmark on the books, and one of Brim’s largest shareholders taking another asset off its hands.

The remaining hurdle is regulatory consent. Until that arrives, the numbers on the table are these: ISK 20 billion for Lýsi, ISK 1.8 billion for Melnes, and DKK 925 million for Polar Seafood Denmark.

Källor: RÚV