Cooke to buy Copeinca in dealthat may be worth near-$1bn

Canadian seafood giant Cooke confirms it’s buyingCopeinca, one of the world’s largest fishmeal and fish oil producers and exporters

Canadian seafood giant Cooke has confirmed it is buying CorporacionPesquera Inca (Copeinca) of Peru, one of the world’s largest fish meal and fish oil producers and exporters.

Cooke and PF Cayman New Holdco have executed a binding share purchase agreement under which a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cooke will indirectly acquire all the outstanding shares of Copecina, Cooke’svice president of public relations, Joel Richardson, said in a press release on Thursday night (Nov. 7).

Cooke did not disclose the value of the deal. It is a private transaction, Richardson told Undercurrent News.

However, the deal could be worth close to $1.0 billion, considering Copeinca had earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of around $130 million, sources told Undercurrent earlier this year.

Antarctica Advisors and Deutsche Bank are handling the Copeinca sale on behalf of the investment firms Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Monarch Alternative Capital, which took control of Copeinca’s then-parent CFG Investment — formerly part of the Hong Kong-based Ng family’s now-defunct Pacific Andes group empire — in2021 after a bankruptcy protection process started in 2016.

Parlevliet & Van der Plas, a family-owned corporation in the Netherlands, had also been rumored to be one of the bidders for Copeinca, sources told Undercurrent in July.

Recently, however, there was a clue that Cooke was closing in on a deal. In October, a company called Copeinca Canada was registered in the province of New Brunswick.

“There is tremendous compatibility between Cooke and Copeinca, and we’re excited to welcome Copeinca’s dedicated employees to the Cooke family of companies,” said Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke, in the press release.

“High-quality fishmeal and fish oil are essential animal and human nutritional ingredients. They ensure a safe and wholesome feed supply for the growth and care of animals in several farming groups, including aquaculture. We believe Copeinca will be a major contributor in furthering Cooke’s growth as a leader in strengthening global food security,” Cooke added.

Copeinca, established in 1994, has grown to become Peru’s largest fishing company with 2,770 employees, 45 vessels and eight processing plants that span the north and center coastline of Peru.

The company holds the largest anchoveta (Enaraulis ringens) quota in Peru, at 15.9%, and processes approximately 21% of the country’s total catch, producing approximately 200,000 metric tons of fishmeal and 23,000 t of fish oil annually.

“Cooke’s strategic agility and vertically integrated operations will enable Copeinca to remain competitive in an evolving global export market,” said Jose Miguel Tirado, CEO of Copeinca, in the joint press release.

“Our Peruvian company is thrilled to join the Cooke family of companies. Peru and Canada have a very strong and growing trade and investment relationship thanks to active collaboration between governments under the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement.”

Cooke entered the marine ingredients sector in 2017 by acquiring US-based Omega Protein Corporation, a nutritional product company and a leading integrated provider of specialty oils and protein products.

Peru is Canada’s second-largest export market in Central and South America and its fourth-most important export market worldwide.

The deal is expected to close before the end of November.

 

SOURCE Undercurrent News