Company type | Public company |
---|---|
Industry | Holding company, commercial whaling |
Founded | 1947 in Reykjavík, Iceland |
Founders | Loftur Bjarnason, Vilhjálmur Árnason |
Key people | Kristján Loftsson (CEO) |
Hvalur hf. is an Icelandic commercial whaling and holding company.[1] Hvalur hf. was founded in 1947 as a commercial whaling company[2] by Loftur Bjarnason and Vilhjálmur Árnason and later run by their sons, Kristján Loftsson and Árni Vilhjálmsson.[1][3] In the recent decades, it has become one of the most powerful investment companies in Iceland, having owned large shares in Arion Bank, Marel, Origo hf. and Brim hf. amongst others.[4]
In 1948, the company purchased an American naval base at Hvalfjörður (Whale Fjord) and converted it into a whaling station. Norwegian crews were involved in training Icelandic whalers into the early 1950s.[5][6]