Premium, First Nations close CAD 1bn Clearwater acquisition

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One of the largest seafood sector deals in recent memory has officially closed.

The CAD 1 billion ($788 million) buyout of Canadian shellfish harvester Clearwater Seafoods by Premium Brands Holdings and a coalition of First Nations is now complete, Clearwater said in a press release.

In January, 99.89% of Clearwater shareholders voted for the deal, which will see food group Premium and the coalition of Mi’kmaq First Nations’ joint venture, FNC Holdings, acquire Clearwater at CAD 8.25 a share. The MacDonald brothers Colin and Mickey as well as John Risley previously owned over 60% of the company collectively.

“We are very excited to have a world-class seafood company like Clearwater join our ecosystem,”said George Paleologou, president and CEO of Premium Brands, in a statement.

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Rodger May, McKinley Capital close deal for Peter Pan

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US seafood entrepreneur Rodger May and Alaskan private equity McKinley CapitalManagement have closed a deal for salmon and whitefish processor Peter PanSeafoods from Japan’s Maruha Nichiro.

May and McKinley confirmed to Undercurrent News the deal closed on Dec.31. Undercurrent reported the deal agreement on Nov. 2 after first reporting the interest of McKinley and May, who already owns Alaskan seafood distributorNorthwest Fish Company, in July last year.

The deal creates a company with sales of over $300 million, as Northwest Fish generates a turnover of between $100m-$125m with Peter Pan at around $200m, depending on the salmon prices, industry sources told Undercurrent.

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Maruha Nichiro closes deal to offload Peter Pan Seafoods

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Maruha Nichiro, the world’s largest seafood company, has finalized the sale of Alaska seafood processor Peter Pan Seafoods, sources familiar with the deal told IntraFish on Monday.

Tokyo-based Maruha Nichiro announced in November it reached a deal to sell the company to an investment group including Alaska-based private equity group McKinley Capital Management and Rodger May, the former owner of Washington State salmon farms now owned by Cooke Aquaculture. The deal closed Dec. 31.

Maruha said at the time it expected a loss of roughly $27.9 million (€23.9 million) on the sale, after several months of unsuccessful efforts to sell the group.

Maruha began the sales process for Peter Pan Seafoods earlier this year, following a dismal 2019 Alaska salmon season. Last year’s salmon season was also a challenge for the group as competition continued to intensify in the state.

Ignacio Kleiman, managing partner at Antarctica Advisors, which is handling the sale, declined to comment on the sale to IntraFish.

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