New Brunswick, Canada-based aquaculture firm Cooke Inc. has announced it will purchase Peruvian fishmeal and fish oil producer Corporación Pesquera Inca (Copeinca).
Under a binding share purchase agreement, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cooke will indirectly acquire all the outstanding shares of Copeinca, Peru’s largest fishing company and one of the world’s largest fishmeal and fish oil producers.
The Peruvian firm boasts the largest anchoveta quota in Peru at 15.9 percent, and it processes about 21 percent of the country’s total catch for an annual production of approximately 200,000 metric tons (MT) of fishmeal and 23,000 MT of fish oil.
“There is tremendous compatibility between Cooke and Copeinca, and we’re excited to welcome Copeinca’s dedicated employees to the Cooke family of companies,” Cooke CEO Glenn Cooke said in a release. “High-quality fishmeal and fish oil are essential animal and human nutritional ingredients. They ensure a safe and wholesome feed supply for the growth and care of animals in several farming groups, including aquaculture. We believe Copeinca will be a major contributor in furthering Cooke’s growth as a leader strengthening global food security.”
Copeinca CEO Jose Miguel Tirado underlined the two companies’ “people-centric culture focused on building up working waterfronts in rural coastal communities through sustainable fish harvesting and responsible processing.”
“Cooke’s strategic agility and vertically integrated operations will enable Copeinca to remain competitive in an evolving global export market,” he said in the same release.
The closed-process sale attracted two bidders from outside Peru and one local firm, according to a sector expert who had knowledge of the process but asked not to be named. Cooke did not report the purchase price of Copeinca, but it most likely came at a significant markdown due to the Peruvian company's debt and contingencies, the expert said.
The purchase agreement marks a new chapter in Copeinca’s troubled history.
China Fishery Group previously owned the Peruvian firm, but its parent company – Hong Kong-based Pacific Andes International – filed for bankruptcy in 2016. Its most valued assets were its holdings in Peru, organized under the corporate name CFG Peru Singapore, which included Copeinca.
The court-appointed trustee over CFG Peru Singapore was tasked in November 2016 with selling its assets in order to compensate the company’s creditors.
At that time, the Copeinca sale attracted global attention from parties interested in entering Peru’s lucrative fishmeal sector, but the process dragged on for years as the company’s complicated financial structure became apparent and multiple lawsuits were filed related to the bankruptcy, including one alleging the Ng family, which controlled a majority stake of China Fishery Group, used inflated revenues and fraudulent transactions to acquire Copeinca.
In March 2021, the lawsuit against Copeinca was resolved via settlement, and another major breakthrough was achieved when a group of China Fishery’s lenders introduced a debt-for-equity restructuring proposal that would result in them taking over control of CFG Peru.
Outside interest in purchasing the firm dried up as a complicated political situation in Peru resulted in an unstable investment scenario, so the creditors’ proposal – led by Burlington Loan Management DAC and Monarch Alternative Capital LP – advanced.
The agreement involved a USD 25 million (EUR 23.3 million) payment to the Ng family in exchange for the bundling of all intercompany claims owed by the CFG Peru subsidiaries into one main claim, as well as for the family’s full support of the agreement. The restructuring support agreement also converted USD 700 million (EUR 652 million) of existing debt into new equity and USD 150 million (EUR 140 million) in new funding to the company.
The latest move could breathe fresh life into the Peruvian company.
Copeinca, founded in 1994, now employs 2,770 people and operates 45 vessels and eight processing plants that span Peru’s north and central coast. It holds numerous industry certifications including MarinTrust, Friend of the Sea, ISO 14001, ABE, BASC, GMP+, and HACCP.
Cooke said that the acquisition – subject to customary closing conditions and expected to close in November – will strengthen its growing marine ingredients business and diversify its geographic and species portfolio. It originally entered the marine ingredients sector in 2017 with its USD 500 million (EUR 465 million) acquisition of U.S.-based nutritional product company Omega Protein, an integrated provider of specialty oils and protein products.
