Pacific Seafood closes deal for plant to expand in US Southeast

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West Coast US industry giant Pacific Seafood Group has closed a deal to acquire the assets of a defunct former skin-pack plant in Doral, Florida, an acquisition Undercurrent News first reported the prospect of during Seafood Expo North America (SENA) in March.

Clackamas, Oregon-based Pacific has closed the deal for the building and equipment of the former NovoMar plant in Doral, close to Miami’s international airport, salmon sector sources told Undercurrent.

Pacific confirmed the deal for the 26,000-square-foot distribution plant to Undercurrent.

With Florida’s rapidly growing population and a $53.2 billion grocery market, this investment strengthens Pacific’s presence in the Southeast and supports its long-term growth strategy, Mission 31, to double in size by 2031, the company said.

“This investment is a game-changer for our Miami operations,” said Reggie LaGuardia, Pacific’s director of distribution, in the statement sent to Undercurrent. “By securing our own facility, we gain greater control over production, food safety, and IT infrastructure, ensuring we can meet and exceed the needs of our customers. This expansion strengthens our ability to serve key retail and foodservice partners while positioning us for continued growth in the region.”

The plant deal will allow the company to process its own seafood, reducing reliance on third-party suppliers, increasing efficiency, and expanding value-added capabilities such as skin-pack salmon processing, Pacific said. Additionally, the facility is expected to achieve critical food safety

certifications, such as SQF, that were not possible at the previous location.

As Undercurrent previously reported, the plant was designed to process as many as 35,000 skin packs per shift and up to 40m pounds annually once it reached full production.

In addition to the 25,765 square feet of plant space, the deal gives Pacific 5,930 square feet of office space across two stories; a refrigerated processing area to handle raw material and skin-pack processing; Three dock-height bay doors for improved logistics and the potential to develop a value-added program with space for a test kitchen.

NovoMar, founded by Emil Andreassen, the son of Atlantic Sapphire founder Johan Andreassen, began efforts to liquidate its operation in October last year. Antarctica Advisors, a corporate finance boutique, handled the sales process.

Andreassen and executives with Antarctica Advisors could not be reached for comments from Undercurrent.

At SENA, Undercurrent revealed that Pacific was negotiating the deal because it had outgrown its existing facility in Miami.

Pacific has operated in Miami, Florida, since 2015, bringing in salmon, tilapia and other seafood from Latin America for further distribution in the US.

The company’s website states the Miami operation was opened as a “consolidation and inspection point” for fresh commodity items such as salmon and tilapia coming from Latin America and South America for Kroger, the largest US retailer.

It’s “currently serving mainly retailer and key accounts with a few independent distributors” and has “the ability to repack and further process.”

The NovoMar plant deal comes as Pacific plans to double its size in the next seven years under its “Mission 31” plan. During SENA, Bill Hueffner, vice president of talent and culture at Pacific, joined Undercurrent‘s Catch the Current podcast to talk about how the company is growing.

Pacific — owned by CEO Frank Dulcich– has more than 40 facilities across the US and Canada, employing more than 3,000 team members and distributing products worldwide, the company states. The company was founded in 1941 by Dulcich’s grandfather.

Back in December last year, Pacific closed a deal for three connected plants in Kodiak, Alaska, from Trident Seafoods.

One of the three plants, The Star of Kodiak, is the largest on Kodiak. It operates all year, processing pollock, salmon, halibut, rockfish, crab, herring, and Pacific cod.

Pacific already had a smaller operation in Kodiak, which will be rolled into the plants acquired from Trident, sources told Undercurrent.

 

SOURCE: Undercurrent News

Antarctica Advisors acted as the exclusive investment banking advisor to The Town Dock

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March 17, 2025 – Antarctica Advisors LLC, the leading Seafood Industry-focused M&A advisory firm, acted as the exclusive investment banking advisor to The Town Dock (“The Town Dock”), one of the leading harvesters, processors and distributors of premium-quality, U.S. Squid, in its 100% sale to American Food Partners (“AFP”), a growing Seafood player in the U.S..

Founded in 1980, The Town Dock is a fully integrated seafood business with fishing, unloading, processing & packing operations. The Town Dock has docking operations in Port Judith, RI and BRC-certified processing facilities in Narragansett and Johnston, RI. The company is well known for its high-quality, fresh and frozen Squid products distributed through retail and foodservice.

Ryan Clark, President of The Town Dock, commented:

“We are grateful to have worked with Antarctica Advisors. The team quickly understood my family’s business and exactly what we were looking for in a buyer. Their Seafood industry knowledge and advice were critical to putting together and negotiating the best possible transaction.”

Ignacio Tirado, Principal of American Food Partners, shared:

“It is an honor to continue Noah and Ryan Clark’s life work and be part of the company’s next development phase. We aim to continue investing and growing the business in the U.S. and to integrate our global sourcing capabilities into it.”

Ignacio Kleiman, Managing Partner of Antarctica Advisors, pointed out:

“Town Dock expands AFP’s direct access to the U.S. market with a brand recognized for its high-quality Squid products. We very much appreciated the opportunity to have worked with Town Dock’s team and look forward to watching the company’s continued growth.”

 

About Antarctica Advisors LLC

Antarctica Advisors LLC is an independent strategic and financial advisory firm formed by a group of seasoned investment banking professionals with expertise in M&A advisory and private equity and debt capital raising. Antarctica’s headquarters are strategically located in Miami, FL providing close connection to its corporate clients in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Antarctica Advisors LLC is a licensed broker-dealer, member of FINRA and SIPC

For further information on Antarctica Advisors LLC please go to www.AntarcticaLLC.com

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How will seafood M&A pan out in 2025? Leading investment advisors offer their views

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More than 75 seafood mergers and acquisitions were reported last year by IntraFish.

Top investment advisors in the seafood sector are optimistic about a rise in M&A activity in 2025 following a strong 2024.

More than 75 seafood mergers and acquisitions were reported last year by IntraFish, from strategic investments and acquisitions of significant minority stakes to full-blown, billion-dollar takeovers.

Jorgen Horntvedt, partner at Seafood Corporate Advisors, a Norway-based Seafood M&A and strategy firm, expects 2025 to be a busy year for M&A in the seafood space, in part because the underlying market for closing deals is good, he said.

Stock markets and debt markets are currently strong, aspects which lead companies to want to strengthen their operations and scale via M&A, he said.

Sectors likely to experience M&A activity in the coming year include tech-related companies, with buyers in this space typically being venture capital firms, private equity firms and family offices

“The tech sector will continue to grow as salmon farmers continue to benefit from tech advancements,” Horntvedt said.

Feed ingredients, which are strategically important for the industry as a whole, are expected to drive many smaller transactions to scale, he said.

There could also be significant deals between salmon farmers during the year, as these groups want to take advantage of economies of scale, Horntvedt said. Processors also benefit from scale and deals could be seen between them.

Smaller bolt-on deals will also feature high during the year, and M&A here could include salmon farmers looking for companies downstream and those that can supply raw material.

Uncertain times

However, while global stock markets generally are strong, times are currently also unpredictable.

“The seafood sector is resilient and generally does well when markets are more uncertain,” Horntvedt said.

From a US perspective, the improved outlook comes after a strong year of gains in the investment market and with presidential elections now done and dusted, Ignacio Kleiman, managing partner at investment banking firm Antarctica Advisors.

Kleiman said 2024 was a good year for his firm. Since the end of 2023, among others, Antarctica Advisors has advised on Indian supply chain platform Captain Fresh’s acquisition of Polish smoked salmon processor Koral, German food giant Unternehmensgruppe and Theo Muller (UTM)’s move to acquire Polish seafood company Graal Group.

One potential stumbling block, particularly in the United States, Kleiman said, could be the imposition of tariffs by the second Trump administration.

“With regards to the seafood industry, I think one of the questions in the United States, in general, is whether the industry is going to be hit by tariffs,” Kleiman told IntraFish.

Donald Trump, who won November’s US presidential election by defeating Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, has threatened to impose tariffs of at least 60 percent on Chinese goods, as well as 10 to 20 percent on products from other countries.

Such a move would be unlikely to find much support among US industrial seafood buyers and household consumers, who end up footing the bill.

“It must be remembered that 90 percent or so of fish consumption in the United States is imported,” Kleiman said.

While Kleiman said it is currently unclear how the tariff situation will play out, he thinks that if the economy continues as expected and interest rates continue to fall this will help reduce companies’ financial costs and also make M transactions more attractive.

The investment expert said the cost-inefficient seafood industry characterized by many mid-sized and small players would benefit from consolidation between competitors.

“If you manage to control your costs better and maybe even reduce your prices, then the food is a much more competitive protein and that is going to be good for the sector in general, for the industry in general,” Kleiman said.

A great mix of transactions in 2024 showed opportunities in different places and sectors in the fish economy, he noted.

“I think this year I would expect more consolidation in processing and distribution,” he said.

Looking at the wider picture, leading investment firms Barclays, Boston, Morg Stanley and KPMG are largely upbeat about prospects for a revival in mergers and acquisitions in their outlooks, thanks in part to what they expect will be falling interest rates and a more relaxed regulatory climate.

 

SOURCE: IntraFish

 

Atlantic Capes deal makes Northern Wind one of world’s three scallop titans

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‘The main reason why we did it is obviously that they’re a big player in domestic and imported scallops and we’re a big player’ — Ken Melanson, Atlantic Sustainable Catch

Don’t look now but a giant scallop-shaped creature has risen off the coast of the US state of Massachusetts. It’s Northern Wind.

There were multiple motivations for Atlantic Sustainable Catch (ASC) to acquire the downstream division of Atlantic Capes Fisheries and fold it into its New Bedford, Massachusetts-based operation, merging two major US scallop producers to create one giant, Ken Melanson, ASC’s chairman and CEO, told Undercurrent News in an interview on Thursday (Jan. 16).

The deal gives Northern Wind — acquired by Washington, DC-based investment firm Acon and rolled into ASC in October 2021 — a much larger footprint in the scallop arena and makes better use of existing facilities, he said.

Northern Wind will now have combined production of about 20-22 million pounds (9,070-10,000 metric tons) of scallops annually, Melanson estimated. That includes roughly 10m lbs of domestically caught scallops and 10-12m lbs of imported scallops, he said.

That would account for roughly half of all the scallops sold in the US, based on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) landings data that shows 16m lbs harvested domestically and NOAA trade data that projects to roughly 26m lbs of imports in 2024.

At a minimum, such numbers would make Northern Wind one of the world’s three largest scallop producers alongside Eastern Fisheries and East Coast Seafood’s Seatrade International, which are also based in New Bedford, sources advised.

“The main reason why we did it is obviously that they’re a big player in domestic and imported scallops and we’re a big player,” Melanson said of the deal involving Atlantic Capes, adding: “With the quotas going to where they’ve been going, and they continue to go down, we’re at like 30% capacity in our facility here.”

The facility Melanson mentioned is Northern Wind’s 120,000-square- foot processing operation in New Bedford, which went through a major $12m expansion in 2019. It’s been upgraded practically every year since, he said.

By relocating Atlantic Capes’ scallop production out of its roughly 60,000-70,000 square foot processing facility in Fall River, New Jersey, the New Bedford plant instead will be able to operate at about 85% of its capacity, Melanson estimated. Fall River will be the plant used to handle other production, including especially co-packing and value-added products, he said.

“We close this deal, and there’s basically no CapEx that we need to do,” he said.

Another motivation for the acquisition was that the companies had little overlap. Melanson said Northern Wind was strong in club store, foodservice and wholesaler relationships, while Atlantic Capes had better ties with small supermarket chains and other retail outlets.

Melanson confirmed that the deal for Atlantic Capes makes ASC a roughly $500m-plus-turnover North American shellfish group as earlier reported by Undercurrent. The acquisition includes Atlantic Capes’ Galilean Seafoods, a large hand-shucking plant in Bristol, Rhode Island.

Overseeing the sale was Barry Cohen, a lawyer who took over as chairman of Atlantic Capes after the death of his brother, Danny, who built up the company. The family was guided in its sale by Antarctica Advisors, a seafood-focused corporate finance boutique, as earlier reported.

Also, as reported earlier, Jeff Bolton — a 21-year executive and the former CEO at Atlantic Capes — has been named president at ASC, though Melanson remains in the top spot as the CEO and chairman of the parent company.

Other management moves are not expected as a result of the merger, Melanson said.

“For the most part, all of the management team [at Atlantic Capes] came along and, we’re a month into it, but it seems to be going well. So yeah, everybody, mostly all of the employees that were working at Atlanta Cape, for the most part, have joined us,” he said.

Holding the highest post at a $500m seafood firm is impressive for Melanson, a New England son who began working in the seafood industry as a fish cutter when he was just 18 — 50 years ago — and co- founded Northern Wind in 1987 along with Michael Fernandes.

The Cohen family will retain its large fishing fleet of 17 vessels, which handle scallops among other species, as part of the deal, Melanson said. But the vessels will maintain a “tether agreement” that commits their scallop catch only to ASC companies.

ASC gained control of the Atlantic Capes Fisheries name for use on products for at least 18 months, Melanson said. However, the company will likely migrate all Atlantic Capes products to be sold under NorthernWind’s four main brands: Five Star Premium Scallops; Captain’s Call for Scallops; Mariner’s Choice Scallops; and Sea Spray Scallops.

However, Melanson said Northern Wind would add a new brand if itmade sense.

Why the deal took so long

Undercurrent began reporting on talks between ASC and Atlantic Capes as long ago as 2021. It emerged Acon’s ASC was the only remaining bidder for the company in January 2023 before a letter of intent was signed in April of the same year.

Then, during the 2024 Seafood Expo North America in March, sources said talks were still on, and a deal was close. At the time, one executive said an agreement could be reached before the start of the new scallop season in April 2024. This prediction proved to be optimistic as the
deal only closed a few weeks ago.

What took so long?

“It was just a complicated deal, and the reason why it was mostly complicated is because we didn’t buy the whole thing,” Melanson answered. “We didn’t buy all the boats. We just bought the IQF custom packing and the marketing division. So we have to separate a bunch of stuff, and certainly, when you get two people in a room, and somebody thinks it’s worth $5 and you only want to pay a dollar for that particular piece of it, it’s complicated. It just really is.”

He added: The [transition service agreements] and stuff were 40 pages
long for crying out loud.”

But the conditions in the scallop market were ripe for consolidation, Melanson said. As reported by Undercurrent, the New England Fishery Management Council voted, 15-1, on Dec. 5 to recommend a new set of Atlantic scallop harvesting rules that would result in projected landings of 19.75m lbs worth $348.25m during the 2025-26 season, which begins on April 1, 2025.

That would represent a 25.6% reduction from the 24.2m lbs in projected landings for the limited access fleet during the 2024-25 season. However, because the catch this season looks more likely to wind up far less than that projection, next year’s harvest might not compare quite as badly.

“Obviously, we’re going to get a little bit of a haircut in the 2025 quota,” Melanson commented. “You see imported scallops getting more expensive. The price of Japanese scallops went from $9.00 a pound to $15.00/lb. You see now domestic go from $14.00, $15.00/lb to $22.00,” he said.

“Anybody who understands our business knows that you need to buy 80% to 90% of all of your needs in the first month of the season, which is only five, six months. That’s it. And if you don’t cover that then, and you’re trying to buy scallops like they’re doing now or paying these prices, then you’re not in the scallop business.”

Decision pending on future acquisitions

Might ASC soon make other acquisitions? Answer: Melanson said there’s nothing currently in the pipeline but he wouldn’t rule it out.

“We’re always looking for deals,” he said. “When you are with a private equity, that’s what they do.”

Melanson spoke generally about the kinds of acquisitions Acon might make in the future, saying the company wants “to get as close to the resource as possible and get to the end user deep, deep into the market on the retailer side.”

Melanson was careful to note that ASC sells other products, too, including squid, tuna, clams, crawfish, mahi-mahi, snow crab, and alligator meat. The two key species, however, are scallops and lobster, he said.

 

SOURCE: Undercurrent News.

US investor Acon finally closes Atlantic Capes buyout to create $500m shellfish platform

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Acon has closed its long-awaited buyout of the downstream division of US scallop giant Atlantic Capes with its Atlantic Sustainable Catch company, which also owns Northern Wind.

Private equity (PE) ACON Investments has closed its long-awaited buyout of the downstream division of US scallop giant Atlantic Capes Fisheries with its Atlantic Sustainable Catch (ASC) company, sources told Undercurrent News.

Washington, DC-based Acon closed the ASC deal for Atlantic Capes on Monday, Dec. 23, creating a $500 million-plus-turnover North American shellfish group. Acon moved into seafood in October 2021 with deals for US scallop processor Northern Wind and two Canadian lobster companies, Suncoast Seafood and Raymond O’Neill & Son Fisheries.

The deal sees Acon-owned ASC acquire Atlantic Capes’ land-based clam, scallop, and value-added seafood assets while the Cohen family keeps its large fishing fleet.

Atlantic Capes has a scallop marketing and processing company in Fall River, New Jersey. Northern Wind already
operates a large plant on the waterfront in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the US scallop capital. In addition, the deal includes Atlantic Capes’ Galilean Seafoods, a large hand-shucking plant in Bristol, Rhode Island.

Antarctica Advisors advised the Cohen family on the sale of Atlantic Capes. The company was built by the late Danny Cohen, who was succeeded by his brother Barry, a lawyer by profession.

Executives with Acon, Antarctica, ASC and Atlantic Capes were not immediately available for comment to Undercurrent.

Undercurrent first reported a formal process for Atlantic Capes back in 2021, with Antarctica running the sell side. Then, in January 2023, it emerged Acon’s ASC was exclusive, before a letter of intent (LOI) was signed in April last year.

Undercurrent first reported a formal process for Atlantic Capes back in 2021, with Antarctica running the sell side. Then, in January 2023, it emerged Acon’s ASC was exclusive, before a letter of intent (LOI) was signed in April last year.

A deal was widely anticipated after the LOI was signed, but nothing emerged, and many assumed the two sides had broken off talks. Acon’s long-awaited deal to unite US scallop giants still in works US wholesale scallop prices

Then, during the 2024 Seafood Expo North America in March, sources said talks were still on, and a deal was close. At the time, one executive said an agreement could be agreed before the start of the new scallop season in April. This prediction proved to be optimistic, with discussions still ongoing four months later.erer

 

SOURCE: Undercurrent News.

Seafood M&A stories that will define 2025’s consolidation landscape, part 1

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Many of Undercurrent News’ major scoops on seafood mergers and acquisitions (M&A) from last year are on story trends that will run into 2025.

Last year was a dynamic one for seafood M&A, with ACON Investments, Captain Fresh, Cooke and Pacific Seafood Group all getting big deals over the line by the end.

However, other big, planned sales, such as US at-sea pollock processor American Seafoods Group (ASG), European seabass and seabream farmer Avramar Seafood, or EU salmon processor Milarex, are on ice or in the works as 2025 gets underway.

As the year closed, UK private equity CapVest Partners’ foray into US smoked salmon production was also on hold.

Then, other major stories — such as the consolidation fest in processing in the US state of Alaska or Japanese seafood companies looking to global M&A — look set to accelerate in 2025.

Below, Undercurrent has highlighted several M&A scoops or story trends that will continue to make waves in 2025. Look out for the second part of this story shortly.

Can Bregal find a $1bn-plus buyer for American Seafoods in 2025?

Bregal Partners, the controlling shareholder in ASG, the largest at-sea pollock processor, halted yet another sale process mid-year as offers reportedly fell below $1 billion.

The cause of the drop in valuation, which saw Bregal and US investor Beach Point Capital Management end talks, was the weakness in pollock fillet and surimi prices in 2024. There are already signs that fillet prices are rising, and surimi has hit the bottom, which could bode well for a Bregal exit from ASG in 2025.

Meanwhile, as first reported by Undercurrent in December 2024, former CEO Einar Gustafsson is mounting a bid for ASG. According to sources,

Gustafsson plans to involve several other parties in his bid, with one reportedly an Alaskan community development quota group, Coastal Villages Regional Fund (CVRF).

A spokesperson for CVRF told Undercurrent it’s not involved in “active negotiations” for ASG but is interested in getting bigger in pollock. Gustafsson has not responded to requests for comment. Watch this space in 2025.

What next for Acon after finally closing Atlantic Capes deal?

After Undercurrent first reported a formal sale process for US clam and scallop giant Atlantic Capes Fisheries back in 2021, a deal finally closed at the end of last year from US investment firm Acon.

Undercurrent was the first to reveal Acon had netted the downstream part of AtlanticCapes with its AtlanticSustainable Catch (ASC)platform. ASC consists of Northern Wind, a large US scallop processor, and two Canadian lobster firms, Suncoast Seafood and Raymond O’Neill & Son Fisheries.

With US scallop supply low in 2024 and set to drop further in 2025, all eyes in the sector will be on what Acon does with Northern Wind and Atlantic Capes.

Captain Fresh aims for 2025 IPO after CenSea, Koral buyouts

Highly prolific Antarctica Advisors worked on the sell side of AtlanticCapes for the Cohen family, having also been involved in two dealsinvolving India’s Captain Fresh in 2024, for Koral and Central SeawayCompany (CenSea). Undercurrent covered both deals from sale process to close.

Utham Gowda, founder and CEO of Captain Fresh, gave Undercurrent some insight into his future M&A and business development plans in an exclusive interview in August 2024.

Gowda spoke of going into US salmon processing, having closed its deal for Polishsmoker Koral at the tail-end of 2024. Undercurrent first reported the agreement in July, having revealed Captain Fresh was in talks to buy the salmon smoker at the end of 2023.

Then, it seems an initial public offering (IPO) will also be on the cards in 2025. Gowda is reportedly eyeing a valuation of as much as $ 1.5bn for the IPO. He first told Undercurrent of the IPO plan in March 2024, during the annual Seafood Expo North America (SENA) show in Boston, Massachusetts.

SENA was a milestone for Captain Fresh, as Gowda had just closed the long-awaited deal for CenSea, a frozen shrimp importer based near Chicago, Illinois, at the end of February. In June2023, Undercurrent
First reported that the Feigon family, who built up CenSea, was eyeing a sale, with Antarctica recruited to run the process. Then, also in June,
Undercurrent first reported that Captain Fresh was looking at CenSea.

In early 2024, Undercurrent also revealed that Captain Fresh had quietly entered the European shrimp sector in 2023 with a deal forSenecrus, a 40-year-old, Paris-based shrimp cooker and distributor.

Alaska M&A: Silver Bay on offensive, Peter Pan collapse, Trident fire sale

The forced consolidation in the Alaska processing sector looks set to continue in 2025 after a frenetic 2024. On Nov. 20, 2024, Undercurrent reported that Silver Bay was in talks to take control of OBI Seafoods’ 10 plants and buying stations in the US state.

The planned deal from Silver Bay, which sources said is in the works for 2025, came at the end of a frenetic year of forced M&A in the state. Silver Bay, owned by a group of Alaska fishermen, took control of Peter Pan Seafood, which spectacularly imploded in the year.

At the end of 2024, Pacific Seafood Group also closed a big move in Alaska, buying Trident Seafoods’ large plant in Kodiak.

The Trident-Pacific Kodiak deal was one of four the Seattle, Washington-based giant did in 2024 in a dramatic fire sale — after offloading facilities in False Pass, Petersburg, and Ketchikan.

Silver Bay bought the Ketchikan plant with E.C. Phillips & Son taking Petersburg. The Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association, known as APICDA, partnered with Silver Bay on the deal for the former Trident False Pass plant. Undercurrent first reported APICDA’s involvement in the deal earlier in the year.

European bass, bream giant to be sold in Q1

A major piece of European M&A is set to close in Q1 of 2025, whichwill bring a new investor into the seabass and seabream sector.

The United Arab Emirates-based firm Aqua Bridge Group is in advanced negotiations to acquire distressed aquaculture company Avramar’s Greekassets, though a deal has yet to be finalized, sources familiar with the process told Undercurrent on Dec. 17.

Negotiations seem to point toward Aqua Bridge buying all of Avramar’s Greek assets, including fish farms, operating licenses, and plants. The Spanish assets would remain under the control of Avramar’s current main shareholder, AMERRA Capital Management.

In October, Undercurrent reported that Abu Dhabi’s MubadalaInvestment Company, previously Avramar’s second major investor, exited its equity stake, selling its shares to Amerra.
Undercurrent covered the sale process, run by Deloitte, from the start.

Also, in 2024, Turkey’s Kilic Holding formally announced the acquisition of Agromey, one of the country’s largest producers of bassand bream.
Undercurrent first reported the prospect of a deal — whichwill take Kilic to around $500m — in 2023.

Where will Cooke look next on M&A after bumper fishmeal buyout?

Canadian seafood giant Cooke had a quiet 2023 and 2024 on M&Auntil the end of November, when it closed the buyout of CorporacionPesquera Inca (Copeinca), one of Peru’s largest fishmeal and fish oil companies.

Undercurrent first reported Cooke was in the running forCopeinca back in July, with Dutch seafood giant Parlevliet& Van der Plas also in the hunt at the time.

Cooke will likely look”everywhere” at more M&A in2025 but will also take some time to digest Copeinca, sources said. In 2023, Cooke only made one deal, Slade Gorton & Co. The year before, Cooke moved into Australian salmon farming, snapping up Tassal Group.

 

SOURCE: Undercurrent News

Seafood M&As are picking up speed. Here are the top deals so far this year

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Global economic upheaval has not put a dampener on seafood industry consolidation this year.

The seafood processing, aquaculture, fisheries and aquatech sectors have shown a surprising amount of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity so far in 2024, reflecting both investor enthusiasm and the ongoing need for consolidation.

Deals slowed in 2023 from the year prior. An IntraFish tally showed 77 acquisitions, mergers and significant investment stakes in 2023 — a 7 percent decline over 2022. However, based on the pace so far in 2024, it is conceivable that this year will reach that level, if not higher.

IntraFish on reported over 60 mergers, acquisitions or substantial stake sales through the first nine months of the year.

Ignacio Kleiman, principal at Antarctica Advisors, a boutique seafood advisory group, told IntraFish that this year shows the appetite for some industry players to continue much-needed consolidation on the processing and distribution side in particular.

“It’s been a year of consolidation,” he said. “It’s been a year with larger deals that were more prominent, as opposed to a whole bunch of small deals last year.”

Kleiman noted that some of the larger players with “more imagination” took advantage of supply chain inefficiencies. Japanese giants were among the deal-makers this year, as were Canadian group Cooke, Norwegian firms SalMar, Nergard and Pelagia, and biopharma behemoth MSD.

Kleiman said the recent rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, though it may not have an immediate impact, is building confidence among owners that may have been reluctant to start discussions.

The fourth quarter is also a notorious period for inking deals, so it’s inevitable that the industry will see more come through, according to Kleiman. Though he expects to see consolidation in processing and distribution in particular, the fragmentation across the industry means there are many more deals to come across the entire value chain.

“There has to be more integration and more consolidation…just because that’s a way of capturing more margin and generating a substantial level of synergies,” Kleiman said.

One sector that should be more acquisitive than it has been, given its size and strength, is the Norwegian salmon farming sector, he said.

“They continue to do exactly the same thing they were doing 10 years ago, as opposed to looking for a way of diversifying into other species.”

Anne Hvistendahl, global head of seafood at DNB, the world’s largest lender to the seafood industry, said the Norwegian salmon industry has plenty of consolidation to tackle in its own backyard, with around 80 salmon farmers in Norway.

“Things will happen, and we have mandates in that direction,” Hvistendahl told IntraFish. “You have generational change, so over time there will be fewer players in Norway and in Chile.”
Both in Norway and across borders, the industry can expect to see more deals come to fruition in the salmon sector, but if owners are happy with their operations, it’s difficult to convince them to think about consolidation, Hvistendahl said.

Dag Sletmo, senior advisor for DNB Seafood, put it bluntly: “Everybody wants to buy, and nobody wants to sell.”

Listen to our full conversation with Kleiman on the most recent episode of the IntraFish Podcast, and follow us on Apple and Spotify to hear our upcoming\ conversation with Hvistendahl and Sletmo.

Listen the PODCAST here.

Antarctica Advisors Acts as Exclusive Investment Banking Advisor to Central Seaway Company Inc. in the Sale to Captain Fresh

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February 29, 2024 – Antarctica Advisors LLC, the leading Seafood Industry-Focused M&A advisory firm, acted as the exclusive investment banking advisor to Central Seaway Company Inc. (“CenSea”) in the sale to Captain Fresh, an India based multi-species multi-origin seafood player.

Established in 1960, CenSea is widely recognized as a market leader in frozen seafood distribution in the U.S. serving major clients in both foodservice and retail markets. With revenues exceeding $350 million, this acquisition provides Captain Fresh with a strong foothold in the U.S. seafood market and represents Captain Fresh’s first significant investment in the U.S. seafood distribution sector.

Antarctica’s specialized Seafood M&A Team provided CenSea with full-fledged M&A advisory services by marketing the opportunity, identifying the buyer, and structuring and negotiating the transaction towards a successful completion.

“We are extremely proud of what CenSea has accomplished as a family-owned enterprise. We now move forward with a united team and a common goal to continue building and growing an industry-leading company. Antarctica’s transaction team was instrumental in bringing this complex cross-border transaction together by leveraging their knowledge and experience in the seafood industry.” said Nate Torch and Jeff Stern, Co-Presidents at CenSea

“CenSea is one of the most reputable brands in the Seafood Industry and recognized as an industry leader in the U.S.  This highly strategic transaction will unlock global growth potential for the future of CenSea and Captain Fresh. Our specialized Seafood M&A Team worked closely with both management and shareholders throughout the process in bringing this transaction to a successful completion.” commented Birgir Brynjolfsson, Partner at Antarctica Advisors

Antarctica Advisors LLC is a U.S.-based, independent investment banking firm providing clients in the global Seafood Industry with specialized domestic and cross-border, industry-focused M&A advisory as well as private equity and debt capital raising services.

For media inquiries, please contact Info@AntarcticaLLC.com or visit www.AntarcticaLLC.com

Will 2024 be a better year for seafood M&A deals? See what the experts have to say

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This year is set to be a better year partly amid improved stock market sentiment, financial executives told IntraFish.

The seafood industry could see more mergers and acquisitions in 2024, although deals may be smaller and driven by the technology and artificial intelligence sectors, according to those in the M&A business.

There were fewer M&A deals last year, despite the fact the seafood sector did not suffer as significant a fall as several other sectors.

Ignacio Kleiman, managing partner at investment banking firm Antarctica Advisors, said he expects 2024 to be a better year amid improved sentiment towards the stock market and an expectation of easing interest rates.

“I think that the outlook is positive. Last year was a little slower because we were digesting higher interest rates and some volatility in Ukraine and all of that. But I think all of that has been digested already. Besides that, there was volatility in different sectors of seafood, in shrimp, in salmon, in snow crab still, and lobster. It was a pretty difficult year in general.”

In spite of this, a number of transactions did happen. An IntraFish analysis shows 77 acquisitions and investments were completed during 2023, down more than 7 percent from 2022’s 83, but 18.5 percent higher than the reported 65 deals during 2021.

Antarctica itself closed the sale of Seafresh to Oceana of Peru and the Continental Grain Company (Conti), Organizacion Cultiba SAB de CV (Cultiba), Equity Group Investments (EGI), and Castle Harlan investment in Mexico-based tuna rancher Baja Aqua Farms, in addition to a number of unreported private deals.

“There is more stuff popping up. I think people have an expectation that eventually interest rates are going to startcoming down, inflation is coming down, earnings and profitability is stabilizing,” Kleiman said.

“The understanding and the expectation is that we are on the other side of this curve, and earnings and the cost ofmoney is and will continue to stabilize. I think that is favorable winds for a pick up in M&A activity, ” Kleiman said.

Given the trend for seafood industry consolidation and the drive for companies to become more efficient, deals of all sizes in different sectors and countries are likely in his view.

“Last year, people were pretty focused on improving their operations, so they were inwardly focused. This year, we are going back to a more normal environment where people are also looking for acquisition opportunities to grow.”

John Doucette, executive vice president and head of commercial lending for US-based M&T Bank, said he expects M&A levels to be similar to those of 2023.

“There is certainly M&A activity that is out there. I think that trend is still going to continue. Values might come down a bit given the interest rates.”

In a difficult climate, banks want to see steady cash flow and, where possible, upswings in this metric before lending, the executive said.

“You are going to see more private equity or family office [involvement]. There are going to be some mergers where there is not going to be as much cash.”

Doucette expects to see lower deal valuations, especially in the US Northeast where the industry is more fragmented.

Interest rate reductions expected to begin in mid-2024 could also help propel the number of M&As in Doucette’sview. “That’s certainly going to make it easier to digest,” he said.

Tech and equipment are sexy

Seafood Corporate Advisors Partner Jorgen Horntvedt said seafood M&A in 2024 will be all about technology and equipment, with tech providers really relevant in terms of decreasing environmental footprints and collecting utilizing data to enable more informed real-time decisions and improving efficiency.

“Utilizing byproducts will provide further consolidation opportunities for larger ingredient companies. Overall, the ongoing consolidation across the equipment supplier segment is expected to continue,” Horntvedt said.

For Hakon Berg, CEO at Norway-based investment group Skeie Teknologi, there is likely to be a fair amount of M&A activity across the digital seafood space in 2024 because of a growing need for data and precise measuring.

There is a significant number of these companies in the space and many of them are looking for cash, and as they become more mature businesses they are becoming more attractive targets, he added.

The prognosis is less clear for Norwegian salmon farmers, who were hit last year with a new 25 percent tax, known as the ground rent tax, on their sea-based farming operations.

“In Norway, the aquaculture tax could lower M&A volumes due to market uncertainty, but the market could also see a heightened focus on consolidation amongst farmers,” Berg said.

“I think we could see a growth in trade sales of smaller farmers due to the tax situation in Norway and the overall economies of scale in the industry.”

SOURCE: The Wave

India’s Captain Fresh in $50m fundraise to complete deal for US shrimp importer

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India’s Captain Fresh is in talks to raise a further $50m from investors as part of the financing for the planned acquisition of US shrimp importer CenSea

India’s Captain Fresh is in talks to raise a further $50 million from investors as part of the financing for the planned acquisition of US shrimp importer, with a deal for a European salmon processor set to follow later in the year, sources told Undercurrent News. As Tech Crunch reported the plans to raise the $50m, Undercurrent sources said the deal talks to buy $300mturnover US shrimp importer Central Seaway Co. (CenSea) are very advanced.

“It sounds like the deal [for CenSea] is close. I’d say weeks away,” one source, who asked not to be named, told Undercurrent. Two more sources with knowledge of the talks confirmed the situation. It’s likely the deal will close before Seafood Expo North America, which takes place in Boston, Massachusetts, March 10-12, they said. CenSea’s management team, led by Joe Rosenberg, Jeff Stern and Nate Torch, declined to comment to Undercurrent. Utham Gowda, CEO and founder of Captain Fresh, which has 80,000 metric tons of seafood going through its Indian platform, did not respond to a request for comment.

Executives with Antarctica Advisors, which is running the sale process for CenSea, also did not respond to a request for comment.

According to Tech Crunch, Captain Fresh is in the “advanced stages” of raising $50m from Nekkanti Sea Foods and venture capital firms SBI Investment, Evolvence, Tiger Global, and Prosus Ventures. Nekkanti, one of India’s largest shrimp processors, led an extended Series C fundraising with $6m, Startup Story reported in January.

The extended Series C is also mentioned by Tech Crunch, which reported it was $15m in total. Prior to the new $50m funding, Captain Fresh had raised over $100m and was valued at $500m in its previous round.

Nekkanti was one of Captain Fresh’s first investors. Captain Fresh CEO Gowda worked for Nekkanti from 2018-2019 as the shrimp processor looked at an initial public offering. He previously worked in banking.

EU salmon deal

Captain Fresh’s planned deal for Polish smoked and fresh salmon processor Koral, which is majority owned by private equity (PE) Abris Capital Partners, is still underway and expected to close later in the year. Koral is the remaining asset left in the PE-backed Graal group after the sale of the company’s canned fish and ready meal assets to German food giant Unternehmensgruppe Theo Muller earlier in 2023, a deal first reported by Undercurrent.

It’s thought this deal is on track, but the aim is to close later in the year.

The Koral plant, which produces fresh, smoked and marinated salmon and whitefish under brands like Super Fish as well as private label, is 22,000 square meters in size.

According to the Graal website, the plant in Kukinia, in the northeast of Poland, has 23 production lines for fresh, cold and hot smoked and marinated fish. The company can process 100t of raw material daily, with salmon and trout, halibut, seabass and tuna as its main species.

As well as smoked products, Koral can produce fresh fish in skin packs and modified atmosphere packaging. Over 500 are employed in the plant, the website states.

Antarctica Advisors is also running the sale process for Koral, having also worked on the sale of Graal’s canned fish and ready-meal assets to Muller.

Captain Fresh has hired Spanish executive Basola Valles to lead the European business as part of his expansion plan. Valles, who worked on Amazon’s European launch and has held top positions with other corporates, has since hired Luz Benitez Povedano as senior commercial director for the EU.

Povedano, who previously worked for France Telecom, Groupon, and JustEat Takeaway, joined the team in

 

SOURCE: Undercurrent News