First Seafood's management buys out Insula, adds €6.3M in fresh capital
What's the deal? Founder and chief executive officer Andreas Sundnes, First SeafoodDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s management team and a group of industrial investors have bought the Norwegian seafood company from InsulaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, ending its decade-long ownership. The transaction included a NOK 70 million (€6.3 million) capital increase to fund the company's next growth phase.
Why now? Insula took a majority stake in First Seafood in 2016, two years after its founding. Chief executive officer Sigvald Rist said the sale reflects Insula's strategy of focusing on seafood production and supply for retail and foodservice markets.
The numbers: First Seafood has grown into an international supplier with 2025 revenue of NOK 1.8 billion (€160 million) and 165 employees. It runs production facilities in Bergen and Kongsvinger, subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Australia, and sells to customers in 49 countries.
The hire: Trine Sæther Romuld, a former Pan FishDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, MowiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and SalMarDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → executive, has joined the management team and is becoming a shareholder. The move deepens the industry expertise now backing the company.
What's the endgame? The fresh capital will develop First Seafood's two core areas: salmon processing and international distribution of frozen seafood, including whitefish and shellfish. Both the Bergen and Kongsvinger plants are running at full capacity, and the company expects continued growth in each area.
Why it matters: "We who know the business best have chosen to invest our own money in the next phase of the company's development," Sundnes said. Rist added that "with the management as the largest owner, supported by strong industrial investors, the company has very good conditions for further development."
The signal: Management-led buyouts remain a route for founders to regain control as strategic owners narrow their focus. First Seafood's deal hands operators the largest stake while keeping industrial backers on board — a structure aimed at aligning ownership with those running the business day to day.
Read more: SalmonBusiness
