Shareholders of Clearwater Seafoods Incorporated, and Nova Scotia’s Supreme Court, have both approved the sale of the company to FNC Holdings Limited Partnership, representing a coalition of Mi’kmaq First Nations and Premium Brands Holding Corporation.
The sale was first announced in November, after Clearwater initially announced it was considering a sale of the company in March 2020. The deal has been valued at roughly CAD 1 billion (USD 788 million, EUR 648 million).
The sale required an affirmative vote from at least of two-thirds of votes cast by shareholders, a threshold that the sale easily met – shareholders representing 70 percent of all shares of the company voted 99.98 percent in favor. According to the Canadian Broadcast Company, the Mi’kmaq are supplying CAD 250 million (USD 197 million, EUR 162 million) of the required funding.
The purchase by Premium Brands expands the company’s holdings in the North American lobster sector, after the company has already acquired Maine Coast, Hankcock Gourmet Lobster Co., Viandex, and North Delta Seafood within the past year, and Ready Seafood in 2018. The company had announced in August that it planned to resume its acquisition strategy, starting with the acquisition of Global Gourmet Foods and Allseas Fisheries later that month.
Soon after shareholders approved the sale on 7 January, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court approved the sale on 8 January, clearing the way for the transaction. According to the CBC, the court hearings on the sale took just 20 minutes.
According to Clearwater, the final sale is expected to close and take effect “on or about [25 January], 2021.”
