Hvalur hf.

Hvalur hf. (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈkʰvaːlʏr̥], lit. 'Whale') is an Icelandic commercial whaling and holding company. Hvalur hf. was founded in 1947 as a commercial whaling company by Loftur Bjarnason and Vilhjálmur Árnason and later run by their sons, Kristján Loftsson and Árni Vilhjálmsson. 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.

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.