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Argentina’s largest shrimp firm exploring sale, owner confrms
The owner of major Argentinian shrimp supplier Continental Armadores de Pesca (Conarpesa) is looking to sell the company, he con rmed to Undercurrent News.
Fernando Alvarez, Conarpesa’s owner and president, said that the company, which generates around $165 million in annual sales, is in talks with potential buyers to sell the major shrimp harvester at a “reasonable price”.
“A year ago, there were rumors that we [Conarpesa] were searching for investors to sell the group. At that time, Antarctica Advisors was doing a study on our company,” he said, adding that the search continues despite the COVID-19 pandemic. “Currently, we are still negotiating and looking for an investor who can ensure business continuity. This may not be the best time to do so, but we have been evaluating this option for a year now,” he said.
Mitsubishi, Legend rule out Clearwater bids with Antarctica brought in to drum up global interest
Antarctica Advisors, one of the most prolific seafood corporate finance advisory firms, has been brought in to work with RBC Capital Markets on adding more international players to the sale process for Clearwater Seafoods, sources told Undercurrent News.
RBC is leading the Clearwater sale, which was announced on March 5, with Antarctica acting as co-advisor, Clearwater’s Christine Penney confirmed to Undercurrent. The revelation Florida, US-based Antarctica will also work on the sale of Clearwater — being valued by analysts at between CAD 880 million to CAD 1.2 billion ($641m to $847m) — comes as two big Asian players, Legend Holdings of China and Mitsibushi Corp. of Japan, ruled out bids to Undercurrent.
Antarctica Advisors Acts as Exclusive Investment Banking Advisor to Clear Springs Foods, Inc. in its 100% Sale to Riverence Holdings LLC
February 4, 2020 – Antarctica Advisors LLC, the leading Seafood Industry-focused M&A advisory firm, acted as the exclusive investment banking advisor to Clear Springs Foods Inc. (“Clear Springs”), the leading grower and processor of rainbow trout in the US, in its sale to Riverence Holdings LLC (“Riverence”), a neighboring producer of steelhead trout.
Based in Idaho’s pristine Magic Valley, Clear Springs was established in 1966 and since 2000 has been employee-owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”). The merger of Clear Springs and Riverence creates the largest producer of trout in the Americas with unrivaled expertise ranging from brood stock, farm operations through processing and national distribution. The scale of the new company will broaden the market for sustainably produced Idaho-raised trout and allow it to offer customers a wider range of quality products, including both rainbow and steelhead trout in fresh, frozen and value-added forms.
US trout farmer Riverence closes deal for larger rival Clear Springs
The second-largest rainbow trout farmer in the US, owned by the creator of a multitude of hit TV shows, has a deal for its larger rival, Clear Springs Foods, making it, by far it the largest farmer of the species in the country.
The purchase by Riverence Holdings, the parent company of Idaho’s Riverence Farms, means that the combined vertically integrated farmer will include 14 farms with a total capacity of 15,000 metric tons annually, four brood stations, two processing facilities, a value-added processing arm, waste recovery plant and a feed mill, the company said.
Riverence acquires Clear Springs, creating America’s largest trout producer
The company, backed by a Hollywood TV mogul, now has its sights on re-inventing the US trout market.
Idaho-based Riverence Holdings on Saturday announced it acquired rival trout giant Clear Springs Foods, making the group the largest producer of land-based trout in the Americas.
With the Clear Springs deal, the company’s operations now include Riverence Brood in Washington State and Riverence Farms, and gives it an even stronger position as a vertically-integrated producer.
Profand deal for Mercadona’s Caladero plant will widen product mix to salmon, whitefish
Spain’s Profand Fishing Holding has moved to acquire Spanish retail group Mercadona’s processing firm Caladero, after buying Stavis Seafoods and investing in Seafreeze in the US.
Zaragoza, Spain-based Caladero will add a new range of species Profand’s portfolio. Caladero processes salmon, trout, seabream and seabass, as well as sardines, in addition to octopus, squid and shrimp Profand is known for.
Vigo, Spain-based Profand agreed to buy 100% of Caladero, which specializes in products in modified atmosphere packaging MAP) trays for Mercadona, which took control of the plant in 2010 after it ran into difficulties under Carlos Amoros, its former owner. The plan at the time was to eventually find an industry buyer such as Profand, which is the main supplier of cephalopods to the retailer.
The deal, which is pending approval by the Spanish competition authority, will allow Profand to “boost its growth and consolidate its leadership in Spain in both volume and efficiency and productivity”, the company said.
The MAP-focused Caladero plant in Zaragoza has 55,000 square meters of production area with a capacity total of 21,000 metric tons of product per year, employing some 600 staff.
Caladero will add €200 million ($222.50m) and a net profit of €3.4m to Profand’s growing business. When Undercurrent News revealed Profand’s move for Seafreeze, done in partnership with Michael Tourkistas, the founder of US shellfish processor East Coast Seafood Group, it emerged the deal would take the company past $500m. So, the addition of Caladero will make the wider Profand group to around $720m in annual sales.
“This is a strategically important transaction both for Profand and for the Spanish seafood industry as a whole. The sector was deeply affected by the 2008/09 financial crisis and this transaction is recognition of the fabulous recovery the sector experienced,” Ignacio Kleiman, founding partner of Antarctica Advisors, told Undercurrent News.
Antarctica Advisors Acts as Exclusive Investment Banking Advisor to Bristol Bay Native Corporation in its Acquisition of Blue North Fisheries and Clipper Seafoods
October 1, 2019 – Antarctica Advisors LLC, the leading Seafood Industry-focused M&A advisory firm, acted as the exclusive investment banking advisor to Bristol Bay Native Corporation (“BBNC”) in its acquisition of a controlling participation in Blue North Fisheries and Clipper Seafoods, the two leading operators in the freezer longline cod sector in Alaska.
Jason Metrokin, President and CEO of BBNC commented: “The Alaska fisheries are an integral part of our shareholder’s lives and our acquisition of these two leading operators in the Pacific cod sector represented a unique opportunity for our group to enter the strategically important seafood industry. The Seafood M&A Team at Antarctica Advisors provided BBNC management and board of directors with valuable industry expertise and execution capability which was integral to the successful completion of this complex transaction.”
Bristol Bay Native Corporation To Acquire Blue North Fisheries and Clipper Seafoods
Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) is pleased to announce the pending acquisition of Blue North Fisheries and Clipper Seafoods, two leading operators in the sustainably-managed freezer longline cod sector of the Bering Sea fishery. Effective September 30th, this acquisition will put BBNC, an Alaska Native corporation with deep cultural ties to fishing, in a position to bring Bering Sea earnings home to Alaska, benefiting its 10,000 shareholders as well as the local economy.
