Hawk Seafood invests in Sea Farm Innovations
31 January 2023 – The Norwegian seafood-focused investment company Hawk Seafood acquires a majority stake in the aquaculture solutions supplier Spf. Sea Farm Innovations (“SFI”). Together, the founders of SFI and Hawk Seafood will focus on further growth in mechanical delousing solutions and other innovative solutions for the aquaculture industry.
SFI is a Faroe Islands based company supplying and developing innovative mechanical solutions for the aquaculture industry. SFI was established in 2016 by the founders Eyðbjørn Hansen and Gunnar Johildarson. The company has inter alia developed the SFI SYSTEM; a gentle and highly effective delousing solution with focus on fish welfare, ease of operation, high capacity coupled with low physical footprint. The SFI SYSTEM has successfully been delivered to a range of blue-chip salmon farmers and service-boat suppliers in Norway, Canada, Chile, Faroe Islands and Scotland. SFI has over the past three years delivered systems for in total 90 million Danish kroner with good profitability.
Joakim Stavnes Karlsen, CEO and Partner in Hawk Seafood, comments: “Our ambition is to develop a strong, innovative, and diversified solution supplier to the aquaculture industry, building from the strong success the SFI founders have had in mechanical delousing systems. Further growth in the aquaculture industry is dependent on solving the industry’s challenges in a sustainable way, and we believe SFI is well-positioned and has unique competences to provide innovative solutions to drive the industry further. We look forward to working with the highly competent SFI team.”
SFI will focus on strengthening its position in the market with Hawk Seafood as a new shareholder to enable further growth, including recruitments and cooperation agreements to get in place a strong organisation in Norway. In addition, the company is strengthening its position in the Chilean market where they are experiencing an increasing interest for its solutions as increased regulation related to fish welfare is expected to drive demand going forward.
Eyðbjørn Hansen, CEO and Co-Founder of SFI, remarks: “We are pleased to get Hawk Seafood as partners in SFI. Our company has had a strong development since we started in 2016, and we are now ready and able to begin on the next phase of our growth journey together with Hawk Seafood. They have a lot of experience in developing growth companies as well as a strong industry network.”
The transaction was completed as a purchase of existing shares where Hawk Seafood acquired a 50.1% stake in SFI, while the founder and management team retained 49.9% ownership.
About Hawk Seafood
Hawk Seafood is a Norwegian investment company focused on investments that can contribute to increased growth in the seafood industry in an efficient and sustainable way. Hawk Seafood is primarily backed by funds from Norwegian family offices and the investment team.
For further information, please contact:
Sea Farm Innovation: Eyðbjørn Hansen, +298 219828
Hawk Seafood: Joakim Stavnes Karlsen, +47 483 88 583