Industry – July 8, 2026
Måsøval: family says taxes and industry change drove decision to sell
The family behind Norwegian salmon farmer Måsøval has described its decision to sell control of the company to SalMar as the culmination of decades of work, saying mounting industry pressures made it the right time to hand the business over.
Heimstø, which owns around 70 percent of Måsøval, has agreed to sell its entire holding to SalMar for NOK 3.4 billion (€303 million), valuing the company at NOK 4.84 billion (€431 million).
In a statement accompanying the transaction, Heimstø chief executive Lars Måsøval reflected on the family's history in salmon farming.
"The company has been built on a steadfast belief in salmon farming, and it is no secret that there have been many challenging periods over several decades," he said.
"We have taken significant risks and been innovative from the very beginning, ever since my father, uncle and grandfather built the cages, farmed the fish and brought the fish to the market, to today, where we are a modern, fully integrated listed aquaculture company with 370 employees producing around 1% of global salmon production."
Values
Måsøval said the family was proud of what it had built but also felt "a strong responsibility to preserve the values and communities created along the coast and to further develop these values for future generations."
He said the industry's operating environment had changed significantly.
"The aquaculture industry is now facing significant changes: framework conditions are changing, new technology is being phased in, and it is challenging to develop the Company further in an environment of margin pressure and a high tax burden."
Against that backdrop, he said, selling to SalMar represented a return to the company's roots.
"It feels right that we now reunite forces with SalMar, which the Måsøval family helped establish in 1991."
He said the family was confident that Måsøval was being placed "in good hands" and that SalMar would continue developing the company "for the benefit of local communities in Central Norway, the Norwegian aquaculture industry and consumers globally, while maintaining the high standards for fish welfare, quality and sustainability."
The agreed purchase price of NOK 39.50 (€3.52) per share represents a 71.7 percent premium to Måsøval's closing share price before Heimstø announced a strategic review of its investment in March, and a 71.9 percent premium to the previous 30-day volume-weighted average share price.
The acquisition remains subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. Following completion, SalMar said minority shareholders will be offered the opportunity to sell their shares at NOK 39.50 (€3.52) each.
