ke Aquaculture has completed the acquisition of Meridian Salmon Farms, a leading Scottish salmon farming company, from Marine Harvest, the Norwegian seafood group.With operations in Shetland and the Orkney Islands and in the mainland of Scotland, Meridian generated revenues in 2013 of C$151.3 million (£82 million) and a corresponding EBITDA of C$44.3 million. The company is highly profitable and expects a significant EBITDA increase going forward.
“We believe this investment in the well respected Scottish industry creates value for our entire group and strengthens our European foothold, which already includes Culmarex, our sea bass and bream farming company in Spain,” says Glenn Cooke, chief executive of Cooke Aquaculture. “The company is highly profitable and is a cost effective producer with a dedicated management team and employee base. We will build on their experience and expertise as we further strengthen and grow this company as Cooke Aquaculture Scotland.”
This transaction is consistent with Cooke Aquaculture’s focus on vertical integration and diversification in terms of geography, products and markets. Cooke’s strategy has been to achieve growth through acquisitions and organic growth that is both sustainable and responsibly managed to meet a growing market demand for healthy, fresh seafood.
Cooke Aquaculture is a Canadian family-owned company with a head office in Black’s Harbour,New Brunswick, Canada and North American salmon farming operations in Atlantic Canada and Maine. It also owns Salmones Cupquelan, a salmon farming company in southern Chile, and Culmarex, a sea bass and sea bream farming company in southern Spain. Over the past twenty-eight years Glenn Cooke and his family have built a fully integrated aquaculture company, which will have nearly a billion dollars in annual sales and 2500 employees in 2014.
