Eyrir Invest

Arni Oddur Thordarson, co-founder and chairman, leads the firm's investment direction. Thordarson and his father Thordur Magnusson, who co-founded Eyrir in 2000, sit on the board alongside lawyer Atli Bjorn Thorbjornsson. Thordarson's operational background — he was Marel's CEO for a decade and chair before that — signals that investment decisions run through an operator's lens rather than a purely financial committee.

Eyrir's deal flow appears to originate from the Thordarson family's industrial network, particularly within the Nordics and across European manufacturing supply chains. Arni Oddur Thordarson's five-year membership in the Coalition of Nordic CEOs for a Sustainable Future, which he chaired in 2023, provides a direct line to corporate leaders across the region. The firm also leverages co-investor relationships developed through the Marel and GKN-Fokker expansions.

Eyrir operates as a single family office but describes an agile private equity-style investment approach. Unlike a typical PE fund, it does not raise blind-pool capital from third-party limited partners and faces no mandated return-of-capital timeline. However, its buy-and-build strategy and practice of installing its principals as portfolio-company CEOs mirror the operating model of a concentrated buyout fund.

Eyrir's track record centers on direct, often influential positions in industrial companies — Marel and GKN-Fokker are the most public examples. There is no public evidence that the firm participates as a limited partner in third-party funds. The partnership with co-investors referenced on its website likely refers to deal-level syndication rather than a fund-of-funds program.

Marel is Eyrir's defining portfolio company. Co-founder Arni Oddur Thordarson chaired Marel's board from 2005 to 2013 and then served as its CEO for a decade. Under his leadership, Marel grew into a global food-processing equipment manufacturer, and in January 2025 it merged with JBT Corporation to form JBT Marel — a 12,000-employee company operating in over 30 countries.

Altss research indicates Eyrir participates across seed, startup, expansion, late-stage, and growth investments. In practice, its signature deals — Marel, GKN-Fokker, Össur, Stork Technical Services — are mature industrial companies undergoing consolidation or cross-border growth rather than venture-stage bets. Any early-stage activity appears secondary to its core buy-and-build mandate.

The firm does not publicly disclose the original wealth source. Co-founder Thordur Magnusson served as CFO of Icelandic shipping company Eimskip for more than two decades before starting Eyrir in 2000. The wealth is presumed industrial and tied to Magnusson's corporate career plus the capital appreciation of Marel, but no confirmed origin statement exists.