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THE European private equity firm Triton Partners is thought to be edging its way towards a deal to buy the Icelandic Group, one of the world's largest seafood producers.
Triton has confirmed that it is negotiations with the Reykjavik-based business which has seafood operations in Britain, Europe, the United States and Asia. It is thought a deal may be just a few days away.
If so, then it will disappoint Canada's High Liner Foods, which earlier this month came on the scene with a 340-million euro bid for Icelandic, clearly with one eye on Icelandic's United States seafood operation, which is based in Newport News, Virginia. So far it has failed to secure talks with Icelandic's owners and it may yet come in with a higher offer.
There has also been criticism that the planned sale of Icelandic has not been opened out to a wider audience of potential buyers.
One suggestion is that the fish trading side of the business would remain under the control of Iceland to avoid complications over quotas, while Triton would take over the manufacturing operations around the world. They include Coldwater Seafoods and Seachill in Grimsby which together employ around 1,200 people, so there will be strong interest in the town in how the deal develops. Coldwater's largest customer is Marks & Spencer.
The Icelandic media are reporting that Carl-Evald Bakke-Jacobsen, a co-owner of Triton said his company will continue to develop Icelandic as a world class seafood company and as a strong leader in its field. He added that the proposed acquisition suited its investment strategy and Triton would also provide the expertise and finance resources to facilitate major expansion of its seafood operations.
Triton specialises in buyouts and middle market transactions. The company was founded in 1997 and while it is based in London, it has strong Scandinavian interests and significant bases in Frankfurt, Germany and Stockholm, Sweden.
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