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THE Icelandic Group, which owns Coldwater Seafoods and Seachill in the UK, has said the sale of its French and German operations, would help to lower debt and sharpen the operational focus of the company.
Icelandic recently signed an agreement to sell the company’s operations in France and Germany to a consortium of investors, led by Pacific Andes, one of Asia's most vertically integrated seafood organisations. The sale figure is undisclosed.
Icelandic acquired Pickenpack Hussman & Hahn (“PHH”) in Germany in 2005, an operation focusing on producing value-added seafood for the retail and food service markets in Germany and other European countries.A year later it bought the former Gelmer processing plant in Wimille, northern France, ( which has since produced frozen seafood products under the brand name Icelandic Boulogne Sur Mer. The Icelandic France sales office in Paris is also included in the acquisition.
The French and German operations of Icelandic Group hold strong market positions in their respective markets, with combined annual sales in fiscal 2010 amounting to 270 million euros (£238 million sterling) and total production of approximately 83.000 tons of quality seafood products per year. The two operations have approximately 900 employees; 650 in Germany and 250 in France.
In March of this year, Icelandic Group engaged Merrill Lynch International, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation to act as financial advisor to the Group in connection with a review of strategic alternatives. These strategic alternatives were to include, among other things, divestment of one or more of the Group´s businesses as well as equity financings. The sale of the Group´s operational platform in France and Germany forms part of this review. The agreement is subject to regulatory approval by competition authorities.
Brynjólfur Bjarnason, CEO of Icelandic: “The sale of our French and German platform is an important strategic step for Icelandic Group towards sharpening its operational focus. This transaction is a key milestone for the Company, whereby it is now well positioned to lower its debts and strengthen existing operations.”
Stephan Hackenberg, Managing Director Rabobank, advisor to the consortium of investors: “The acquisition offers a unique opportunity for Pickenpack Hussmann & Hahn, Icelandic Boulogne Sur Mer as well as Icelandic France to join forces into a vertically integrated Group with know-how, expertise and financial resources that will better service clients in the retail, foodservice and wholesale sectors. ”
Icelandic is widely expected to retain its highly successful UK operations which are both based in Grimsby.
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