The imminent departure of Nueva Pescanova CEO Ignacio González from the company on 16 June is unrelated to the company’s current situation of being sold by Abanca.
Canadian seafood conglomerate Cooke Inc. entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement in April 2023 to purchase an 80 percent stake in Nueva Pescanova from Abanca, a Spanish bank facing regulatory pressure to offload its majority holding.
“I can't tell nothing on the positions of either Abanca or Cooke, but Nacho's exit was agreed months ago and all the parts of the deal were informed in advance,” Nueva Pescanova Global Chief Marketing, Innovation, and Communication Officer Miguel Angel González Ezquerra told SeafoodSource in an email.
González Ezquerra said he couldn’t provide an update on the state of negotiations, deferring to Cooke and Abanca. A Cooke spokesperson declined comment, and Abanca did not respond to a request for comment.
But González Ezquerra said González had been planning to leave Nueva Pescanova even before Cooke was chosen as the exclusive bidder for the company.
“It was agreed time ago, even before the selection of Cooke's offer, and it is based upon personal (family) reasons, nothing to do with business,” he said. “We continue with our strategic plan and the due diligence process goes on.”
González Ezquerra confirmed José María Benavent, who currently serves as the company’s executive chairman, has been chosen as González’s replacement as CEO and “is taking Nacho's functions, permanently.”
González Ezquerra said he is not privy to Cooke’s plans for Nueva Pescanova and has not been told whether they will include staffing changes, if Cooke does take over.
Photo courtesy of Nueva Pescanova
