Seafood giant Thai Union Group has announced that it has converted its loan-based strategic investment in Iceland's Aegir Seafood Company into a 50% shareholding.
The move will see Thai Union consolidate its business relationship with the seafood company.
Thai Union invested in Aegir Seafood in 2019, and since then, the Icelandic company has made a substantial contribution to the growth of Thai Union's brands and private label business, particularly its King Oscar and Rügen Fisch brands, the John West parent noted.
Paul Reenan, regional president at Thai Union Europe, said, "Aegir's supply of premium product has enabled King Oscar and Rügen Fisch to grow their cod liver business and enter new markets, which respond very well to the cod liver produced in Iceland. With Thai Union now owning 50% of Aegir, we expect this growth to be accelerated."
Responsible Sourcing
Aegir sources all its cod from responsible fisheries in Iceland and its products are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which is widely globally as the benchmark of seafood sustainability.
Guðmundur P Davíðsson, chair of the board at Aegir, added, "Joining forces with Thai Union is a major step for the Icelandic canned food industry. Thai Union's investment enables us to further grow sustainably in the coming years.
"Thanks to their strong commercial operations in Europe and beyond, we can expand our offering of top-quality cod liver products from Iceland."
In August of this year, Thai Union Group reported 8.5% growth in sales to THB 38.9 billion (€1.1 billion) in the second quarter of its financial year, driven by increased demand and higher selling prices.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest A-brands news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.