High Liner Foods completes American Pride Seafoods takeover

High Liner Foods, a Canadian frozen seafood company, has completed its acquisition of American Pride Seafoods from Seattle-based American Seafoods Group, for a total enterprise value of approximately $50m.

Headquartered in New Bedford, Massachusetts, American Pride is a frozen seafood and scallop processing business, catering to foodservice customers in the commercial and independent restaurant, health care and education as well as export and retail markets.

In 2012, the company posted revenues of around $190m.

As per the terms of the deal, High Liner Foods paid $34.5m in cash for American Pride’s tangible assets, including inventory, plant and equipment, excluding accounts receivables of approximately $15.5m.

The acquisition adds significant US-based scallop processing operations to the company’s business portfolio.

It will allow the company to further strengthen its presence in the US value-added frozen seafood industry’s foodservice segment.

High Liner Foods CEO Henry Demone said, "Our vision is to be the leading frozen seafood supplier in North America and a key component of High Liner Foods’ strategy is profitable growth through acquisitions like American Pride, that complement our business and should strengthen our leadership position within the seafood industry."

"This transaction should create incremental value for our shareholders and bring us one step closer to achieving our vision," Demone added.

American Seafoods Group CEO Bernt Bodal said that selling the American Pride Seafoods business was a difficult decision.

"However, this sale will allow us to strengthen our position as a producer of premium seafood products from the sustainably-managed fisheries in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest and lead the industry in developing new products and markets from those fisheries," added Bodal.

High Liner Foods expects the acquisition to be modestly accretive to earnings in 2014.

The integration of the acquisition into High Liner’s business will be delayed and operated without any substantial changes until 2014, allowing the company to concentrate on synergies related to integrating Icelandic USA, which it purchased in Q4 2011.

As a result, most of the synergies from integrating this acquisition are expected to occur in 2015.

RBC Capital Markets provided financial advisory services to High Liner Foods, while Moelis acted as financial advisor to American Seafoods.

---

Image: The acquisition adds significant scallop processing operations to High Liner Foods’ business portfolio. Photo courtesy of Marcus / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.