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