Tokyo, Japan-headquartered Nissui Corporation on December 16 announced the acquisition of all shares of Pesquera Yadrán (PY) through its consolidated subsidiary Salmones Antartics (SA) from Inversiones Yadran SA, Chile Market Limitada Servicios y Asesorias Financieras and Inversiones Crucol Limitada. The US $133 million transaction is scheduled to close in January.
SA and PY operate fresh and frozen Atlantic salmon aquaculture businesses in Chile and maintain sales channels to overseas markets including the USA. Through this share acquisition, the company will seek to expand the scale of aquaculture operations together with SA, enhance processing and sales networks, and pursue efficiency improvements, such as optimizing the balance between fish species and farming sites.
This news follows Nissui’s announcement in October that its Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA-headquartered Gorton’s manufacturer and marketer of prepared frozen seafood has opened a new production facility in Lebanon, Indiana.
Since the 2000s, Nissui has been building a global supply chain for seafood and has established its “Global Links” framework with overseas group companies and partner companies that share the same vision. Gorton’s joined this framework in 2001 and has since expanded its business in the United States, focusing on white fish products made primarily from Alaska pollock.
In its long-term vision “Good Foods 2030,” Nissui identifies accelerating global expansion as a key challenge. In the overseas food business, the Group aims to become the world leader in seafood-based fried products using white fish and shrimp.
Gorton’s holds the leading market share in the USA household prepared frozen seafood category with its core range of fried Alaska pollock products, while also working to expand shrimp-based products.
Meanwhile, Gorton’s existing flagship plant in Massachusetts continues to serve as the brand’s primary production facility, and with the addition of the Lebanon plant (ictured below). The new factory is focusing on producing value-added products and optimizing product lines to enable further supply chain flexibility. The plant was constructed in collaboration with Gorton’s distribution partner, Camden, New Jersey-headquartered United States Cold Storage, which provided support in facilities such as refrigerated warehouses and in logistics.
