| 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]
- ^ a b Ingi Freyr Vilhjálmsson (30 January 2016). "Baráttan um hvalveiðar Íslendinga: "Þetta var og er hans hjartans áhugamál"". Stundin (in Icelandic). Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ ""Hvalur" vill leigja 3 erlend skip til hvalveiða". Vísir (in Icelandic). 19 February 1948. p. 4.
- ^ Ingi Freyr Vilhjálmsson (22 November 2023). "Dramatískur endir á áratuga samstarfi". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). pp. 12–13. Retrieved 25 July 2022 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ Þórður Snær Júlíusson (8 November 2019). "Nýtt Ísland og nýjar valdablokkir". Kjarninn (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "History of Whaling". The Húsavík Whale Museum. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
- ^ Ellis, Richard (1999). Men and Whales. The Lyons Press. p. 472. ISBN 978-1-55821-696-9.
