Marel closes Valka acquisition

Reykjavík, Iceland-headquartered seafood processing machinery and technology firm Marel closed its acquisition of Kópavogur, Iceland-based whitefish- and salmon-processing specialist Valka.

The acquisition, first announced in July 2021, gives Marel a minimum of 90 percent control over Valka’s share capital. Terms of the deal were not released. The transaction was subject to approval from Icelandic financial authorities on anti-trust grounds, which was received by Marel on 19 November.

“Together, Marel and Valka will be in a stronger position to transform the fish processing industry in partnership with customers,” Marel said in a press release. “With the acquisition of Valka, Marel will strengthen its full-line offering to the fish processing industry and increase scale to serve customer needs better. The shared technical knowhow in the combined team will accelerate the innovation roadmap allowing processors to adapt swiftly to a rapidly changing market.”

Valka, which also operates an office in Norway, was founded in 2003, has implemented turnkey systems in Iceland, Norway, and Russia, including contracts with Gadus, FISK Seafood, and Murman Seafood. In 2020, its annual revenue totaled around EUR 17 million (USD 19.1 million).

“There is high potential for Marel to build on Valka's products and technology in other protein industries,” Marel said in its release. “Together, the companies will be in a key position to reach customers worldwide by leveraging Marel's global sales and service network in over 30 countries, ensuring proximity to customers for sales, installation, and aftermarket services.”

Marel, with EUR 1.2 billion (USD 1.4 billion) in revenue in 2020, is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and the Euronext Amsterdam market. Its recently released third-quarter financial report showed the company recorded higher revenues, profit, and orders received in Q3, but lower earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) due to higher operational costs.

Previously in 2021, it announced the purchase of new stakes in whitefish-processing equipment firm Curio and salmon-processing technology firm Stranda Prolog.

Photo courtesy of Marel