J-Trading Inc., a Tokyo, Japan-based seafood wholesaler, announced on 1 October that it had acquired 85 percent of its shares held by Integral Corporation, a Tokyo-based venture capital firm, as well as the 7.5 percent of its shares held by individual investors, for a total of 92.5 percent of its shares, through Jcapital Inc.
Jcapital Inc., also of Tokyo, is a holding company for the newly formed JSK group, which will consist of J-Trading and its Croatian subsidiary Kali Tuna d.o.o., and Kali’s subsidiary MB Lubin Ribartsvo d.o.o. (In Croatia, a “d.o.o.” is the equivalent of a limited liability company.)
Kali Tuna, established in 1996 by Croatians who had gained experience with bluefin farming in Australia, operates six farming sites between the Dalmatian Islands in Croatia.
MB Lubin’s activities include tuna fishing, tuna farming, feed fishing, processing of fish feed for the tuna farming operations, research and development, and sales and export of tuna. MB Lubin operates a fleet of fishing vessels that catch northern bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas. The fish are towed in cages to Kali’s farms, where they are fed for up to three years. As the tuna-fishing season only lasts one month, the same boats catch small pelagic fish for use as feed.
J-Trading and Integral had teamed up to buy Kali, the largest cultivator of bluefin tuna in the Adriatic Sea, in March of 2015. The current buyout and reorganization represents an exit for the buyout partner and the ability of the group to obtain its own financing.
