Bolton Group International is in talks to acquire Bellevue, Washington, U.S.A.-based tuna firm Tri Marine, according to a 5 April message from Tri Marine Chairman and CEO Renato Curto posted on the company’s website.
Bolton Food, a division of the Milan, Italy-based conglomerate Bolton Group, purchased a minority share of Tri Marine in 2013. The Bolton Group, which has more than 5,000 employees worldwide, produces a wide variety of consumer goods and markets them in more than 100 countries, primarily in supermarkets. The company’s seafood brands include Rio Mare, Palmera, and Saupiquet.
“Tri Marine has proudly served as a major supplier to Bolton Food for nearly four decades. Throughout the years we built a strong partnership with their group and in 2013, they confirmed the solidity of our business relationship by acquiring a significant minority interest in our group. Our partnership has worked extremely well as we share common values, including a commitment to transparency, environmental and social responsibility, sustainability and quality,” Curto wrote. “Nothing has changed as of today. We continue to work together and seek synergies that would allow us to leverage our institutional knowledge and expertise. We have also been considering deepening the relationship between our groups.”
Curto said no deal has been signed as of 5 April.
“While conversations have been held for some time and are continuing, at this stage there is no agreement with respect to any possible change in ownership,” he said. “Should the situation change, we will promptly inform our employees and business partners.”
Tri Marine reported USD 1.1 billion (EUR 980 million) in sales in 2016, ranking it third in the SeafoodSource Top 25 Seafood Suppliers in North America that year. The company declined to provide sales figures in 2017. Bolton Group posted revenue of EUR 1.96 billion (USD 2.2 billion) and profits of EUR 211 million (USD 237.6 million) in 2016, according to PackMedia.
The talks come less than a month after the death of Bolton Group founder Joseph Nissim, who passed away in early March.
In his message, Curto acknowledged his own long history with Tri Marine, which he took over in 1986 and built into a billion-dollar company.
“As I prepare to celebrate this year my 75th birthday and 46 wonderful years with Tri Marine, I am reminded of our enduring legacy of stewardship for tuna, an incredible natural resource. Our nearly 5,000 employees around the world work hard every day to preserve, enhance and grow our business and our reputation in the industry. I am as optimistic as ever about the future of Tri Marine,” Curto said in his note.
