High Liner to acquire Icelandic’s US and Asian operations

High Liner Foods, a Canadian frozen seafood company, has entered into an agreement to acquire the US and Asian operations of Icelandic Group, a leading supplier of seafood to the foodservice market in the US.

The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is valued at $230.6m and is expected to close in late 2011 or during the first quarter of 2012.

The acquisition gives High Liner Foods ownership over Icelandic’s processing plants in Newport News, Virginia in the US, as well as a subsidiary that operates a processing plant in China.

It also gives the company a royalty-free licence to use the Icelandic Seafood brand in the US, Canada and Mexico for a period of seven years.

High Liner will fund the transaction with new long-term debt and an increase in its existing asset-based loan facility.

Icelandic, based in Reykjavik, Iceland, produces a range of seafood, including battered and breaded products and a full line of premium fillets in the US.