Premium Brands purchases Global Gourmet Foods and Allseas Fisheries

Canadian speciality food manufacturer Premium Brands (PBH) has acquired Global Gourmet Foods and signed an agreement to purchase Allseas Fisheries.

For these two deals, PBH will be investing nearly C$139m ($106m). Of this amount, C$115m ($88m) will be in cash while C$10m ($7.6m) will be through its common shares and up to C$14m ($10.7m) in contingent consideration.

Premium Brands president and CEO George Paleologou said: “The combination of Global Gourmet with our existing Gourmet Chef business will position us as the leading player in a high-growth niche market that is benefiting from a number of long-term sustainable trends.

“We are also very pleased to be partnering with Global Gourmet’s leader, Richard Breakell, who has been a key driver of its growth in recent years. Going forward, Richard will lead the combined operations of Global Gourmet and Gourmet Chef.”

Global Gourmet offers ready-to-eat (RTE) kettle-cooked food solutions such as protein-based fillings, speciality sauces, soup bases and side dishes, which are distributed in the domestic and international markets.

Meanwhile, Allseas distributes fresh and frozen seafood to retail, foodservice, and wholesale customers in Ontario.

Subject to customary closing conditions and approval of the Canadian Competition Bureau, the acquisition of Allseas is expected to close in four to eight weeks.

Allseas co-founder Danny Soberano said: “We are very excited to be joining the Premium Brands group. Its entrepreneurial culture and respect for the uniqueness of its individual businesses is the perfect environment for us to continue to execute on our business plan.

“Furthermore, we are excited about leveraging the PB ecosystem to create new opportunities and to advance our business to the next level in its growth and development.”

In September 2018, Premium Brands signed a definitive agreement to purchase US-based Ready Seafood (Ready).