The largest shareholders in Icelandic fishing and processing group Samherji have transferred the ownership of more than 85% of the company to their children.
CEO Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson and his former wife Helga Steinunn Guðmundsdóttir, and vessel operations manager Kristján Vilhelmsson and his wife Kolbrún Ingólfsdóttir have between them retained a 2% stake in the company, while transferring 86.5% of the shareholding in Samherji to the next generation.
Baldvin Thorsteinsson and Katla Thorsteinsdóttir, the children of Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson and Helga Steinunn Guðmundsdóttir, between them hold a 43% stake, while Dagný Linda Kristjánsdóttir, Halldór Örn Kristjánsson, Kristján Bjarni Kristjánsson, and Katrín Kristjánsdóttir, the children of Kristján Vilhelmsson and Kolbrún Ingólfsdóttir, together have a 41% holding.
According to a statement by the company, this generational shift has been in preparation for the past two years, with the plans formally announced to Samherji’s board of directors in mid-2019. By transferring shares to their children, the founders of Samherji want to maintain the essential family relationships that the company was built on and have been the cornerstone of its operations.
‘We are fully committed to participating in Samherji’s ongoing operations. The company has a bright future and has grown and prospered despite various difficulties. Our staff has shown the owners and the company unparalleled loyalty for decades and laid the foundation for the stability that is a key element of the business,’ the two founding cousins Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson and Kristján Vilhelmsson stated.
‘Now we have a new generation joining us. We have the opportunity to further evolve our value added processing, provide work and job security and strengthen the important values of sustainability and responsible use of resources that have been Samherji’s strategy from the beginning.’
Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson and Kristján Vilhelmsson will continue in their roles of CEO and managing director of ship operations.
The company’s domestic operations are Samherji’s business. Overseas operations belong to a separate entity, Samherji Holding. There is no change in the ownership of Samherji Holding.
