Kverva Finans, the investment vehicle owned by Gustav Witzøe, has increased its holding in Måsøval after acquiring a further 2.1 million shares.
A fresh shareholder register shows Kverva now owns 12.74 million shares in Måsøval, equivalent to 10.4% of the company, according to Finansavisen.
The latest purchase follows confirmation last week that Kverva had acquired a separate 10.6 million share block previously held by Odin Norge.
Kverva is now the second-largest shareholder in Måsøval behind the Måsøval family, which retains a 69.98% stake.
SB1 Markets Market-making, which previously held 2.1 million shares, has meanwhile exited the shareholder list. Based on the latest traded price, the stake was worth close to NOK 71 million (€6.53 million).
Christian Nordby, head of analysis at Arctic Securities, told Finansavisen last week he believed there was more behind Kverva’s initial purchase and that SalMar could ultimately be interested in acquiring Måsøval.
Arctic previously set a NOK 35 price target on Måsøval, based on what it believes the market implies for SalMar’s licence values.
According to the bank, a sum-of-the-parts valuation is heavily supported by commercial licences in production area 6, where it estimates slaughter potential of around 13,300 tonnes. Arctic said those licences alone could justify a value of around NOK 4.2 billion (€386.4 million), based on implied SalMar licence pricing.
The Måsøval family said last month it was open to selling the business.
Måsøval shares were trading at NOK 33.60 (€3.09) on Friday afternoon, up 19% year to date and 38% over the past 12 months.