Kaldbakur

What Kaldbakur does

Kaldbakur ehf. is a privately held Icelandic investment company (fjárfestingafélag) headquartered at Strandgata 1 in Akureyri, with an operational presence in Ålesund, Norway. The company was established in 2022 when it was spun off from Samherji hf. — one of Iceland's largest seafood companies — to hold non-core investment assets of two Samherji founders and their families. Kaldbakur's stated objective is to create long-term value through active ownership in a diversified portfolio that spans maritime services, offshore energy, food processing, insurance, geothermal drilling, retail, and refrigeration, with approximately 40% of total assets held as foreign investments across Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Spain, Romania, and the USA.

The company's principal holdings include 100% of Optimar International AS (a Norwegian global leader in automated fish processing systems acquired from Haniel in February 2024), 91% of Slippurinn Akureyri ehf. (a shipyard and maritime repair business), 49.7% of Hrólfssker ehf. (underlying: Sjóvá insurance), 40% of Jarðboranir ehf. (geothermal drilling), 33.3% of REM Offshore Holding A.S. (offshore maritime services), and 8.1% of Hagar hf. (Icelandic retail). In January 2025, Kaldbakur also participated as a co-investor in Arctic Therapeutics' €26.5 million oversubscribed Series A, marking entry into the biotech vertical. The portfolio is operated as a strategic ecosystem rather than a financial-only fund, with significant vertical overlap around Iceland's seafood value chain.

Kaldbakur generates financial returns through active ownership, receiving dividends and investment income from portfolio companies and realizing gains through strategic divestments. The group reported equity of approximately 36 billion ISK at end-2024 (up from 35.5 billion ISK at end-2023), 2024 profit of approximately 2.3 billion ISK, and a parent-company cash position of 6.7 billion ISK (~20% of total assets). The vehicle is governed by a five-member board chaired by Steingrímur H. Pétursson, with a small operational team (1–10 employees) led by CEO Eiríkur S. Jóhannsson. There is no external institutional or LP base disclosed.

Name

Kaldbakur

Legal name

Kaldbakur ehf.

Website

https://kaldbakur.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kaldbakur ehf. is a privately held Icelandic investment company, owned by Samherji hf. founders and their families, that creates long-term value through active ownership in a diversified portfolio spanning maritime, energy, food processing, insurance, and retail across the Nordics and selected international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Akureyri

HQ country

Iceland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns and Dividend Income: Kaldbakur generates revenue through active ownership in portfolio companies, receiving dividends and investment returns from its diverse holdings spanning maritime, energy, food processing, and retail industries. The company also realizes gains through strategic divestments of portfolio companies.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Kaldbakur ehf. is an independent Icelandic investment company that creates long-term value through active ownership in a diversified portfolio of operating companies spanning maritime services, offshore, geothermal energy, food processing, and retail. It does not sell products or services to external customers; instead it acquires, holds, and supports portfolio companies, generating revenue through dividends, investment returns, and strategic divestments.

Product overview

Kaldbakur ehf. is an independent Icelandic investment company (fjárfestingafélag) that creates long-term value through active ownership. The company manages a diversified investment portfolio spanning multiple industries including maritime/offshore services, seafood processing, banking, food processing, and energy. Key portfolio companies include REM Offshore Holding A.S. (33.3%), Hagar hf. (8.1%), Hrólfssker ehf./Sjóvá (49.7%), Slippurinn Akureyri ehf. (91%), Optimar A.S. (100%), and Jarðboranir ehf. (40%). The company does not manufacture or sell its own products but rather holds equity stakes in established operating companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kaldbakur Investment Portfolio

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Austevoll Seafood ASA: Austevoll Seafood is a publicly listed Norwegian seafood and investment holding company (parent of Leroy Seafood) with significant equity stakes across fishing, aquaculture, and offshore. It is broadly comparable as a Nordic-listed, family-influenced seafood holding — though larger, listed, and with deeper vertical integration than Kaldbakur.
• Aker ASA: Aker is a large Norwegian industrial and investment holding company with operating businesses across offshore, seafood, and renewables, and significant cash reserves for M&A. It is comparable to Kaldbakur's maritime/offshore exposure via REM Offshore and demonstrates the scale and discipline a Nordic holding-company platform can achieve.
• NTS ASA: NTS is a Norwegian investment holding company that owns a controlling stake in Norwegian fishing company Havfisk and other seafood assets. It is broadly comparable as a Nordic, family-influenced vehicle holding significant seafood-processing and harvesting assets.

Direct peers

• Eyrir Invest: Eyrir Invest is an Icelandic family-controlled investment holding company with a diversified portfolio across industrials, healthcare, and food. It is structurally comparable to Kaldbakur as a single-family Icelandic vehicle pursuing active long-term ownership across multiple sectors.
• Siem Industries S.A. Siem Industries is a Luxembourg-based, family-controlled investment holding company with a portfolio focused on offshore vessels, renewables, and seafood services. It is a direct peer to Kaldbakur in both structure (single-family holding) and sector focus (offshore and maritime).

Others

• Norðlaks Holding AS: Norðlaks is a Norwegian family-owned salmon-farming and seafood investment group. It is thematically comparable to Kaldbakur's seafood-processing thesis via Optimar and its portfolio of Nordic aquaculture-adjacent businesses.
• Samherji hf. Samherji is the Icelandic seafood company from which Kaldbakur was spun off in 2022 and whose two founders remain Kaldbakur's owners. It is an ecosystem participant rather than a competitor — Kaldbakur took over Samherji's non-core investment assets and continues to share the founder network and Icelandic seafood relationships.

Regional players

• Brim hf. Brim is an Icelandic publicly listed fishing and seafood processing company. It is comparable to Kaldbakur's shipyard and seafood-processing portfolio holdings as a regional Icelandic operating company in the same value chain — useful as a sector benchmark and potential portfolio adjacency.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kaldbakur

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kaldbakur