Industry – July 16, 2026
Aker: why the krill specialist belongs in private hands
Aker said taking Aker BioMarine private would allow the krill harvesting and marine ingredients company to focus on long-term industrial development rather than the demands of public markets.
"We believe private ownership is the right framework for Aker BioMarine's next phase, where industrial development, product development and commercialisation are more important than short-term considerations in the stock market," said Aker chief executive Øyvind Eriksen in a press release on Thursday morning.
The proposed takeover follows a strategic review of Aker BioMarine's Human Health Ingredients business. Aker said discussions with industrial and financial investors failed to produce offers that adequately reflected the company's long-term growth prospects.
"Both industrial and financial investors showed interest in the company, but none presented proposals that, in our view, sufficiently reflected the company's future market opportunities," Eriksen said.
Aker BioMarine's board unanimously backed the proposed merger, with chairman Ola Snøve describing it as "the best alternative for the company and its shareholders" after considering other options.
Under the proposed transaction, Aker will offer minority shareholders NOK105 per share in cash or a combination of Aker shares and cash. Aker, through Aker Capital, already owns 77.67% of Aker BioMarine.
Arctic Securities said the offer represents an 11.5% premium to Aker BioMarine's closing share price of NOK 94.20 before the announcement. The bank noted that shareholders can either accept the all-cash offer or elect to receive 0.0706 Aker shares plus NOK 21 in cash for each Aker BioMarine share, based on an implied Aker share price of NOK 1,189.
