True North completes acquisition of Mariner Seafood assets

True North Seafood, the processing division and flagship brand of Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada-based Cooke Inc., has acquired the business of Mariner Seafood, a seafood processor headquartered in New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Cooke CEO Glenn Cooke confirmed the acquisition in a press release.

“It has long been a dream of our family seafood company to have a presence in the number-one value fishing port in the nation, New Bedford,” Cooke said. “We now have over 4,000 Cooke employees in 22 U.S. states and we will continue to invest and grow our New Bedford processing operations to supply our customers with healthy, top-quality True North Seafood products.”

True North declared its intention to serve as the stalking horse bidder for Mariner’s assets after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, 14 September.

According to a purchase agreement filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Massachusetts, True North will pay USD 2.75 million (EUR 2.3 million) in cash as well as an additional USD 200,000 (EUR 169,000) in cure costs on an equipment loan. Of the total, True North has agreed to pay up to USD 2.2 million (EUR 1.9 million) of the accounts receivable, plus an additional USD 550,000 (EUR 464,000) for the costs of the purchase, including USD 300,000 (EUR 254,000) of the to Tully and Holland, an investment bank that organized the sale of Mariner’s assets.

Founded in 2001, Mariner operates two processing facilities – a 32,000-square-foot facility that handles scallops, haddock, cod, and shrimp, and a 14,000-square-foot plant specializing in salmon processing. It is capable of processing more than 8,000 metric tons of seafood annually, and has a workforce of approximately 170 employees. The company’s GO WILD brand specializes in in the packaged-case ready-tray segment and its MarSelect brand is primarily focused on scallops.

“We’re very pleased to welcome True North Seafood to New Bedford and we look forward to supporting Cooke’s continued growth as a global seafood leader,” New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said in a press release. “The Port of New Bedford serves as the city’s greatest natural resource and the economic engine of southeastern Massachusetts, stimulating investment, attracting new industry, and creating jobs. True North will be a welcome addition to the port.”

Photo courtesy of Mariner Seafood

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