Buyer found for Skaginn assets

An agreement has been reached for the purchase of the assets of the Icelandic seafood processing equipment company Skaginn 3X, which filed for bankruptcy in the summer.

A group of investors with the firm KAPP, another Icelandic technology company,  will buy all the equipment and liquid assets of the Skaginn estate in Akranes.

Skaginn 3X, was a well-known name in the world of seafood processing and aquaculture equipment, but it  filed for bankruptcy four months ago after Baader, its German parent company since 2021, failed to turn the business around.

More than 120 staff were laid off despite attempts to save the company. Now a new company, KAPP Skaginn, has been created to move the operation forward.

Iceland’s salmon and fish processing industries are expanding at an impressive pace and the new owners see an opportunity for Skaginn, which is majority-owned by Skaginn ehf. It will also look outside Iceland for business.

Freyr Friðriksson, KAPP’s CEO and largest shareholder, says that it may be challenging  to re-hire staff but he was optimistic about the company’s future despite the fact that the market is not easy.

He said: “The market here at home and abroad is difficult, but we are certain that there are opportunities and we just have to approach them.”

He said the new operation was confident that the past knowledge and experience of staff with the previous operation along with goodwill from previous customers will prove a strong asset.

The deal is subject to approval from Iceland’s Competition Authority but the aim is to restart operations next month.