Japanese seafood giant Maruha Nichiro has purchased the remaining stake of Urk, Netherlands-based Seafood Connection Holding (SCH) for an undisclosed amount.
Maruha Nichiro said in a release it held 81.96 percent of shares in SCH, which it said served as a sales base for its products in the European market. Maruha Nichiro plans to rebrand as Umios in March 2026, as the company said it plans to shift its focus via a new long-term vision and mid-term management plan.
“Under the Mid-Term Management Plan, the Company is promoting business expansion across key regions around the world, including Japan, North America, Europe/Africa, China, and Asia/Oceania through the ‘Glocal Strategy,’ one of the initiatives to realize the new long-term vision,” Maruha Nichiro said in its purchase announcement.
The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Maruha Nichiro said it will leverage the new wholly owned subsidiary to strengthen its collaboration with overseas bases and enhance the speed of its decision making to “accelerate the Global Strategy.” The company said the strategy will ultimately increase its overseas ordinary income ratio to 70 percent.
Maruha Nichiro said SCH had JPY 130.9 billion (USD 844 million, EUR 723 million) in net sales in FY 2024 and an operating income of JPY 6 billion (USD 38.6 million, EUR 33.1 million).
Maruha Nichiro said SCH CEO Jan Kaptijn has been appointed executive officer of the company effective April 2025.
Seafood Connection has been owned by Maruha Nichiro since 2013, and it has acquired other European seafood companies in following years.
In 2017, it acquired Dutch firm Weerstand Beheer after being a minority shareholder for several years. In 2018, it acquired the frozen division of Avona Seafood, which agreed to transfer its processing and sales to SCH for an undisclosed amount.
In 2022, SCH acquired Grimsby, U.K.-based Northcoast Seafoods, which returned to profitability in 2023 thanks to increased revenue and decreased costs.
Also in 2022, SCH established a joint venture with Verona, Italy-based Agrofish, a company which had worked with Avona Seafood in the past, to create Seacon Italia. That, too, was part of Maruha Nichiro’s medium-term management strategy to promote the expansion and further growth of its seafood supply chain in Europe.
Maruha Nichiro also recently announced a partnership with logistics and trading company SENKO Group Holdings as part of its planned rebrand as Umios.
