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

M&A

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

Many of Undercurrent News' major scoops on seafood M&A from last year are on story trends that will run into 2025

By Tom Seaman | Jan. 7, 2025 10:13 GMT

American Seafoods Group's (ASG) Northern Eagle factory trawler. Credit: ASG

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.

free read Editor’s choice: UCN’s most-read stories of 2024

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.

Former American Seafoods investor Coastal Villages involved in Gustafsson’s bid for pollock giant

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.

See links to stories on this topic below:

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.

Jeff Bolton named president of $500m PE-backed shellfish platform after Atlantic Capes deal closes

Undercurrent was the first to reveal Acon had netted the downstream part of Atlantic Capes with its Atlantic Sustainable 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.

See links to stories on this topic below:

Captain Fresh aims for 2025 IPO after CenSea, Koral buyouts

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

Captain Fresh eyes US salmon plant, more EU expansion after Polish smoker deal

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 Polish smoker 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.

Captain Fresh closes deal for EU salmon processor Koral

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 June 2023, 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 for Senecrus, a 40-year-old, Paris-based shrimp cooker and distributor.

See links to stories on this topic below:

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.

Silver Bay in takeover talks for OBI’s Alaska plants

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.

Trident completes sale of Kodiak operations to Pacific Seafood

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.

See links to stories on this topic below:

European bass, bream giant to be sold in Q1

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

Avramar sale should finalize in Q1, ties with Spanish ops to be maintained

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

Negotiations seem to point towards 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 Mubadala Investment 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 bass and bream. Undercurrent first reported the prospect of a deal -- which will take Kilic to around $500m -- in 2023.

See links to stories on this topic below:

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

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

Cooke, P&P tipped as bidders for Peruvian fishmeal giant

Undercurrent first reported Cooke was in the running for Copeinca 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 in 2025 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.

See links to stories on this topic below:

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