Cooke buys control of Avramar Greece
Agreement will give it operational command, says Canadian company
Global fish farmer Cooke Inc. has agreed a deal to take control of Mediterranean seabass and sea bream farmer Avramar Greece, it announced today.
Cooke said it had executed a memorandum of understanding under which it will acquire the existing debt facilities of three companies that comprise Avramar Greece - Avramar Aquaculture S.A., Andromeda S.A., Perseus S.A. and Avramar Commercial and Logistics S.A. - from the companies’ lenders.
Together with an existing agreement to acquire the equity of Avramar Greece, the acquisition will give it operational control of Avramar Greece, said family-owned Cooke, which is headquartered in New Brunswick, Atlantic Canada.
A Mediterranean leader
“The original companies comprising the Avramar Greece group were established in 1981, and the company has grown to become a leader in Mediterranean aquaculture. It is a vertically integrated operation, which includes hatcheries, marine farm sites, processing and packaging facilities, and feed production operations.
“The acquisition is subject to definitive documentation and customary closing conditions and is expected to close at the earliest opportunity.”
Cooke’s Spanish subsidiary, Cooke España, already produces sea bream (Sparus aurata), seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), and meagre (Argyrosomus regius), sold under the Culmarex brand.
47,000 tonnes
According to a report on MisPeces (MyFish) website in October last year, Avramar’s production capacity in Greece is estimated at 47,000 tonnes, with a further 15,000 tonnes in a separate operation in Spain.
As well as bass and bream, Cooke farms Atlantic salmon in Canada, the United States, Chile, Scotland, Chile, and Tasmania; prawns in Australia and Central America; and barramundi in Australia’s Northern Territory. It is a vertically integrated company that also operates fishing fleets and feed mills.
