An agreement has been reached on the purchase of the Irish company Marigot, the owner of Íslenska kalkþörungafélagið in Bíldudalur, for a 60% share in the innovation company Marinox ehf., Which is owned by Matís ohf. and two key executives there. A new share capital will be issued for Marigot's share as a result.
Matís has historically built a strong reputation in the field of research and innovation in food production and biotechnology. More often than not, these have been underutilized products, such as seaweed and kelp, around which Marinox's operations have been built. Matís has thus been involved in companies that have been tempted to create value from an underutilized resource that others would not have been interested in using. By supporting the innovation of Matís employees in this way, an incentive is created for the company's researchers to go further with their work and create a valuable product out of it, for the benefit of the entire business community. Such an arrangement has long been used all over the world and in Iceland as well, for example within the university community.
At the same time as it has been Matís' competitive force to assist entrepreneurs and companies in taking the first steps in valuable food production and biotechnology, it has never been the case that Matís has a long-term shareholding in start-up companies. It is important that entrepreneurs and companies receive the expert assistance that Matís has to offer only for the time necessary and that Matís then sells its share in the companies. A good example of such a process and Matís' involvement is the innovation company Iceprotein in Sauðárkrókur, which was sold to FISK-Seafood ehf. in 2012.
and Frank O'Sullivan, CFO of Marigot
Now it's time to sell shares in Marinox's production division. This is the part of the company that handles research and processing of valuable raw materials from the sea, seaweed and kelp. The company will therefore continue to operate under the same name but with a new controlling shareholder. In parallel with the share capital increase in Marinox, the skincare line, UNA Skincare, will be separated from the company and transferred to a new company, which will initially be owned by the same parties that now own Marinox. In the immediate aftermath, new investors in UNA Skincare will be sought.
Matís celebrates this milestone and looks brightly at the opportunities that open up for Marinox and Matís in collaboration with the Irish company, which has already made a name for itself in Iceland.
Further information is provided by Friðrik Friðriksson, Chairman of the Board of Matís (896-7350).