News
Canadians to take over
SCOTTISH SITES
COOKE’S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS C
OOKE Aquaculture has signed an agreement with Marine Harvest to purchase Meridian
Salmon Farms Limited, a leading Scottish salmon farming company with assets on Shetland, Orkney and mainland Scotland. The operations have an esti- mated combined harvest volume for this year of 17,400 tonnes. Marine Harvest said the agreed enterprise value (EV) is £122.5- million, which corresponds to an EV per kilogram of NOK 70. Marine Harvest said that the
divestment is a consequence of the remedies set forth by the EU Commission for the approval of the Morpol transaction in September 2013, which required Marine Harvest to divest farming capacity on the Shetland and Orkney Islands. Based on the year end 2013 balance sheet, Marine Harvest’s anticipated gain on the sale is ap-
proximately NOK 300 million. STRATEGY
‘We are always looking for strategic development and invest- ment opportunities in the seafood sector,’ said Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Aquaculture. ‘This purchase gives us a unique platform for our European operations and is a good fi t with our Spanish sea bass and sea bream farming company, Culmarex. We will be able to lever- age our global relationships with suppliers and build on Meridian’s excellent market reach into both the European and US marketplace.’ Meridian was created through the acquisition of multiple farming operations, including The Lakeland Group and Mainstream Scotland. ‘We believe this investment in the well respected Scottish industry creates value for our entire group and strengthens our European foothold,’ explains Mr Cooke.
Glen Cooke: CEO
‘Meridian generated revenues in 2013 of CAD151.3 million and a corresponding EBITDA of CAD 44.3 million. The company is highly profi table and expects a signifi - cant EBITDA increase. This will be driven by an increased sales price per kg that will be achieved when it is operated as an independent company.
‘Meridian is also a cost-effective
producer with a dedicated man- agement team and employee base.
Meridian’s operations have a estimated combined harvest volume of 17,400 tonnes in 2014
There are many similarities be- tween our corporate cultures and the pristine natural environments and high environmental standard of our farming operations.’ This transaction is consistent with Cooke Aquaculture’s focus on vertical integration and diversi- fi cation in terms of geography, products and markets. Cooke’s strategy has been to achieve growth through acquisitions and organic growth that are both sus- tainable and responsibly managed to meet market demand. Meridian produces a high
proportion of superior quality and accredited salmon, includ- ing organic and Label Rouge. The company also focuses on delivering quality fresh products to European markets within a few hours from harvesting.
Closing of the transaction is expected in the second quarter. Cooke Aquaculture Inc is a Ca- nadian family-owned company with a head offi ce in Black’s Harbour New Brunswick and North Ameri- can salmon farming operations in Atlantic Canada and Maine. It also owns Salmones Cupquelan, a salmon farming company in south- ern Chile and Culmarex, a sea bass and sea bream farming company in southern Spain. Cooke’s sales and marketing division, True North Salmon, sells a broad spectrum of fresh, farmed seafood products into the Canadian and US markets. Over the past 28 years Glenn Cooke and his family have built a fully integrated aquaculture compa- ny, which will have nearly a billion dollars in annual sales and 2500 employees following the Meridian acquisition. FF
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www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
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