Norwegian industrial investment firm Pangea has acquired seafood processor Milarex from private-equity group Summa Equity.
Milarex, headquartered in Norway and established in 2016, sold a minority stake to Summa Equity a year later.
In announcing the sale to Pangea, Summa Equity stated that Milarex has “rapidly scaled into one of the most advanced players in secondary seafood processing.”
The company primarily markets smoked, fresh, and frozen salmon and operates a processing facility in Poland.
According to Summa Equity, revenues at Milarex have increased five-fold during its ownership. The private-equity firm also noted that it has been “profitable since inception,” although specific figures were not disclosed.
Milarex CEO Thomas Farstad, who has guided the business since 2017, remarked: “With Summa’s support, we have built a high-performing organization that combines technological and market-driven innovation with environmental responsibility.”
Farstad added, “As we enter our next chapter, we shall build on the established platform and continue to deliver value to our customers, employees, and communities.”
In a separate announcement on the Milarex website, it was emphasized that: “There are no planned changes to our day-to-day operations, and the current management team will remain in place. All business contacts and service levels are unchanged.”
The group now has a presence in over 30 global markets and expanded into the North American market in 2021 through the acquisition of California-based seafood company Ultco.
Ultco, based in San Diego and with processing operations in Iceland and Norway, supplies seafood to retail, foodservice, and airline customers, as well as private-label clients in the US and Canada.
Its product range includes fresh, frozen, and value-added Norwegian and Icelandic salmon, along with trout and halibut.
