Cooke Seafood USA's parent company has submitted an offer to purchase 100% of the assets of Fripur, an Uruguayan seafood firm.The offer was submitted on 19 December and complied with the court's specifications as part of the company's receivership process.
The specifications include deposit of a guarantee and a sustainable business plan that incorporates employees.
Antarctica Advisors, a leading seafood focused investment banking firm, is acting as Cooke's sole investment banking advisor in this deal.
Cooke Seafood USA has been set-up by Cooke family and owns the Wanchese Fish Company, which has operations in the US and Argentina as well as a sales office located in France.
The Wanchese Fish Company is claimed to have a business model with profitable global operations. It harvests, processes and distributes seafood products to customers in the US and Europe.
It has long-term relationships with major food service and retail customers worldwide.
Cooke Seafood USA has appointed Irrazabal & Asociados and Antarctica Advisors to comply with formal requirements set by the court at the opening of tenders in order to successfully acquire the assets of Fripur.
The Uruguayan processor had been in financial troubles since 2013 and its condition further worsened when Nigeria cut imports of croaker, one of the primary products it has been exporting to the African country.
Due to tough global competition and economic crisis in Europe, the fishing industry in Uruguay has been experiencing tough times.
Last year, the Uruguayan firm fell into bankruptcy, with debts amounting between $30m and $50m.
The Cooke family own Cooke Aquaculture, a Canada-based aquaculture group.
