Merger agreement between Gildi and Festa signed

The boards of Gildi Pension Fund and Festa Pension Fund have approved an agreement to merge the two funds, and the agreement was signed today. The agreement will be submitted to a special annual general meeting of both funds for ratification in early November. Festa's special annual general meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 4 November, and Gildi's special annual general meeting for Thursday, 5 November. The meetings will be formally convened later in accordance with the funds' articles of association.

Should the merger proceed, the result will be the second-largest fund in the country, with assets of around ISK 1,600 billion based on the funds' position at the end of 2025. The merged fund will also be the largest by membership, with a combined total of around 285,000 fund members holding rights with Gildi and around 116,000 with Festa.

Formal discussions on a possible merger between Gildi and Festa began in early June. The boards' joint assessment is that the merger could create a range of benefits for the members of both funds. These benefits include greater economies of scale, a stronger operating foundation, more robust member services, and increased capacity for technological and digital development. In the boards' assessment, the merger could create better conditions for long-term returns and strengthen the merged fund's ability to safeguard members' interests and services in the future.

The funds are similar in many respects, including with regard to their membership base, benefit systems, and actuarial assumptions. These similarities create favourable conditions for a successful integration and increase the likelihood that the intended benefits of the merger will be delivered to members.

On behalf of Gildi, the agreement was signed by Perla Ösp Ásgeirsdóttir, Chair of the Board, and Bjarnheiður Hallsdóttir, board member. On behalf of Festa, the agreement was signed by Silja Eyrún Steingrímsdóttir, Chair of the Board, and Halldór Kristinsson, Deputy Chair. Also present were Davíð Rúdólfsson, CEO of Gildi, and Gylfi Jónasson, CEO of Festa.

The accompanying photo was taken when the merger agreement was signed earlier today.