Nordic Outdoor Group CEO confirms second acquisition in a month

Following swiftly on the heels of its acquisition of BIOS Aktiebolag – owner of the iFish brand – the Nordic Outdoor Group (NOG) has further strengthened its position in the Scandinavian market.

The group has acquired 100% of the shares in Fibe AB, the Scandinavia’s leading supplier of live bait and ice fishing equipment. Based in Kungsängen outside Stockholm, the company is the largest and leading supplier of worms and maggots on the ice through the winter and worms for float and bottom fishing in the summer.

Leif Holst-Liæker (main picture), CEO of Nordic Outdoor Group, who will become Chairman of the Fibe Board, said: “The acquisition is the next step in ice and winter fishing after the purchase of BIOS and iFish. Fibe brings bait and ice fishing equipment, while the group adds a brand market presence and back-end. It is a well-run, profitable company with its own production and longstanding customer relationships.

“We plan to continue investment in Fibe’s own bait production and distribution capacity alongside its digital platforms to make the company more efficient and strengthen the experience for retailers and customers. We will also use the group’s presence in markets outside Sweden to widen Fibe’s reach.”

Andreas Nilsson, owner and CEO of Fibe, will continue as CEO and become a shareholder in the group. He said: “I have built Fibe over many years, and selling was never about stepping away. In Nordic Outdoor Group we get an owner who understands our market. All customers and suppliers can be confident that I will lead Fibe and be as dedicated as before for many years to come.

“Re-investing in the group was an easy decision – I would rather own a share of something bigger and keep building than stand still. For our customers in Sweden, nothing changes: same people, same products, same delivery. In Norway we will take the time this deserves, together with the partners who have helped build our position there.”

Holst-Liæker added: “Fibe is a company we have followed with interest for a long time. Live bait is less glamorous but one of the most important parts of our industry: it is what gets people out on the ice in February and onto the lake with a float in July, week after week, and it is where a great many anglers start.

“Andreas has built a leading position from his own production, and the fact that he chooses to re-invest and stay on tells you what you need to know about his belief in what we are building. Together with iFish, Fibe gives the group real weight in ice and winter fishing.”

The Nordic Outdoor Group’s acquisition of Swedish business BIOS has given the business a long-sought operational base in Sweden’s spin-fishing market and a stronger route into the fast-specialising ice and winter-fishing category.

The move is centred on iFish, BIOS’s established Swedish brand in spin and ice fishing. For Nordic Outdoor Group, which already includes Sølvkroken, Vision, Aava, Fly Dressing and Fly Scene, the deal addresses what it describes as its most important strategic gap: a credible Swedish presence beyond the fly-fishing segment.

“BIOS filled the one gap that mattered most – a base for spin fishing in Sweden,” said Holst-Liæker. “Both the company and the group were ready at the same moment, which does not happen often.”

iFish is expected to become central to the group’s ambition to build a leading Nordic sportfishing platform, particularly in ice fishing and the broader winter-fishing market. Over the next 12 to 24 months, the plan is to continue BIOS’s existing direction of travel: expanding own-brand ranges and product development, while adding modern systems, greater marketing capacity and sufficient resources to accelerate growth.

The emphasis will be on development rather than consolidation. iFish will remain a distinct Swedish brand and business, with Nordic Outdoor Group maintaining the commercial identities of each business in its portfolio. The immediate synergies are expected to come from growth opportunities – not cost cutting – through shared market knowledge, product expertise and routes to customers.

BIOS also brings its Pool 12 fly fishing brand into the group. No change is planned for Pool 12, which will continue as a value-for-money entry point for anglers taking up fly fishing.

From an operational standpoint, the acquisition adds more than a brand portfolio. BIOS provides a Swedish retail channel for spin fishing, an established ice-fishing proposition and a local operational base outside the fly category. Sweden and Norway will be the immediate geographic priorities, with Finland also under consideration as the group develops its Nordic footprint. There are no short-term plans for wider European expansion of the BIOS brands.

While Nordic Outdoor Group does not disclose in-year financial figures, it reports positive sales development across all its geographies and in both fly and spin fishing during 2026.