The company's interim CEO, Lars Måsøval, said it is difficult to continue developing the business in an environment of continuous change, pressure on margins, and a high tax burden.
Photo: Heimstø.
"We are confident that Måsøval is being placed in good hands that will continue its development for the benefit of local communities in Central Norway, the Norwegian aquaculture industry and consumers globally, while maintaining the high standards for fish welfare, quality and sustainability."
This is what Lars Måsøval said after the family's decision to sell its 70% stake in the business to SalMar was announced late yesterday. Interim CEO of the salmon company, he is also CEO of Heimstø, the Måsøval family investment company that owns those shares.
The agreement reached between the two companies is not a surprise. At the end of March, Heimstø announced it was undertaking a strategic review of its ownership in Måsøval, and only a few weeks later, we learned that Kverva, the family investment company of Gustav Witzøe—SalMar's owner—had become the second-largest shareholder in the salmon farming company.
Thus, although in the presentation of its results for Q1 2026 last May, Måsøval continued to claim that the strategic review did not constitute a decision to pursue a transaction—"Rather, a process has been initiated to evaluate and explore various ownership alternatives," it stated—as SalMar's move signalled, the deal eventually came to fruition.
Late yesterday afternoon, after the Oslo stock exchange had closed, both companies issued statements announcing the agreement. However, while SalMar's statement focused on financial aspects, Måsøval's took a more personal turn as its CEO, Lars Måsøval, looked back to explain the reasons that led the family to make the decision to sell.
"The company has been built on a steadfast belief in salmon farming, and it is no secret that there have been many challenging periods over several decades. We have taken significant risks and been innovative from the very beginning, ever since my father, uncle and grandfather built the cages, farmed the fish and brought the fish to the market, to today, where we are a modern, fully integrated listed aquaculture company with 370 employees producing around 1% of global salmon production," the also CEO of Heimstø explained.
"We are proud of what has been built, while at the same time we feel a strong responsibility to preserve the values and communities created along the coast and to further develop these values for future generations," Lars Måsøval continued.
"The aquaculture industry is now facing significant changes: framework conditions are changing, new technology is being phased in, and it is challenging to develop the company further in an environment of margin pressure and a high tax burden. Against the backdrop of significant change, it feels right that we now reunite forces with SalMar, which the Måsøval family helped establish in 1991," he added.
The statement, which continued with the aforementioned comment that the family is confident that Måsøval is being placed in good hands, thus emphasized the family aspect of the agreement. Two families from Frøya—the westernmost municipality in Trøndelag county, in Central Norway—which started the aquaculture business at the same time 35 years ago, although one of them—the buyer—is now the world's second-largest salmon farming company.
Although much less extensively than the CEO of Måsøval, SalMar CEO Frode Arntsen also mentioned in his statement the shared origin of both companies.
"Måsøval is a historically well-established and well-managed company with strong roots in the region, and its operations are a good fit with SalMar's existing activities. The companies share common roots on Frøya, and we see significant potential for further development," he said.
Arntsen, who noted that the transaction is still subject to necessary regulatory approvals and other customary conditions, the processes for which are now beginning, also said that the purchase represents "an exciting industrial opportunity" that will strengthen SalMar's position in Central Norway, one of its most important core regions for aquaculture.
As already reported by WeAreAquaculture, the agreement stipulates a purchase price of NOK 39.50 per share, implying a total consideration for the 70% stake of approximately NOK 3.4 billion (EUR 303.2 million / USD 346.6 million). This consideration consists of 733,906 SalMar shares, representing 10% of the total purchase price, and cash for the remainder.
According to Måsøval's statement, the value of the consideration shares was determined based on a price of NOK 461.40 per share, corresponding to the closing price of SalMar shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange (Euronext) on July 6, 2026. The consideration represents a 71.7% premium over Måsøval's closing share price of NOK 23.00 on March 25, 2026—the last trading day before Heimstø announced its strategic review—and a 71.9% premium over the volume-weighted average price of Måsøval shares during the 30 trading days before the strategic review announcement, which was NOK 22.98.
Thus, based on Måsøval's 122,508,455 shares outstanding as of 8 July, the deal values the Norwegian salmon farming company's full share capital at around NOK 4.84 billion (EUR 431.6 million / USD 493.5 million). Following the transaction's execution, SalMar will ensure that minority shareholders can sell their Måsøval shares at the same NOK 39.50-per-share price.
Furthermore, as part of the agreement, Heimstø has obtained the right, for a period of 12 months from the execution of the transaction, to sell the shares received as consideration back to SalMar for a price of 461.40 NOK per share.
