The Icelandic company Baugur confirmed its 326 million pound acquisition of Big Food Group on December 19th, adding the Book cash-and-carry outlets, Woodward Foodservice and, ironically, the Iceland supermarket chain to the list of UK businesses now owned by Icelanders.
Baugur had previously acquired the Goldsmith jewellery chain, Karen Millen, Whistles, Julian Graves and Mk One and holds stakes in House of Frasier and Sommerfield.
Actavis, the Icelandic pharmaceuticals company, is ‘poised to be one of next year’s biggest flotations’ (Times online) when it joins the London Stock Exchange in January. Icelandair recently bought an 8% stake in EasyJet and plans to buy more, at least in the short term, but its intentions in the long run are unclear. The food producer Bakkavor, who produces ready-made meals for the UK market mostly, owns a larke stake in its UK comptetitor Geest and is sure to complete its takeover thereof soon.
This is just a part of what’s happening in the UK, I can’t be bothered to find more. We’re taking over, quite simply, and there’s not a damned thing you Brits can do about it. I recommend getting an Icelandic phrasebook to get ready for the arrival of your inevitable Nordic overlords. If we need housing, we’ll take Nottingham, as it has about the same population as our proud motherland.
Many Americans may not be aware that in the late medieval period, after the Viking era, England was pretty much the major sea power in the region, and dominated Iceland completely.
I base this statement on The Frozen Echo, by Kristin Seaver–a history of the Greenland colonies.
I thought ‘The Frozen Echo’ was a novel on the Greenland colonies and, at any rate, what would a Norwegian know about Vikings? We mostly had problems with Algerians who, by a series of delightful misunderstandings, caused Turks to be considered vermin and ok to be shot on sight until 1998 (IIRC). All the altercations with the British (apart from slight kidnapping issues when we were moving here from Norway) that I can remember are from the Cod Wars.
For those not familiar with the Cod Wars, they were caused by England’s attempts to prevent Iceland from enlarging their fishing limits from 4 miles to 12, then to 50 and finally to 200 miles in 1958, 1972-1973 and 1975-1976, respectively. They failed on all occations.
My apologies if this constitutes reviving a thread but I don’t have the internet at home these days and can only post here from work.
Update: Baugur now also owns Magasin du Nord, Denmarks biggest chain of department stores and KB Bank, a subsidiary (sp?) of Kaupthing, is the proud owner of FIH, one of Denmark’s largest banks.
Yeah I was wondering about that. Magasin currently has a big ownership change sale. Perhaps the post restaurant inside will serve klipfisk and sheep balls?
Still, you gotta admit. Corporate takeover doesn’t quite taste like Viking invasion. The good and trusted old fashioned Viking way of pillage, slaughter and rape. Ahh. Those were the times.
Wait… you’re not going to rape the housewife bargain hunters, are you?
Nah, assuming they’re Danish. I seem to remember you being Faroese, Rune… I guess you know we own the SMS shopping mall? Well, we do.
And another update: Islandsbanki (Bank of Iceland) is just about to complete a takeover of BNbank, Norway’s fourth-largest commercial bank. 99.54% of stockholders has accepted the takover offer so the rest is just a matter of formality. If we keep buying at this rate, Europe will be ours before 2010; PM me if you want your death to be quick and painless…
I also seem to remember Iceland being the only European country (besides The Faroes hah!) with an above replacement level fertility. Buy them out, then breed them out. Is that the plan? But there’s got to be an axe in there somewhere…
Btw. If I can choose, I’ll prefer my own unique method of destruction, being chased over a familiar looking cliff by topless Icelandic beauties in garishly coloured Viking helmets and matching undies
