Cooke Inc., the Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada-headquartered parent company of Cooke Aquaculture, has purchased Farallon Aquaculture de Nicaragua S.A., a vertically integrated producer of farmed shrimp and a major supplier of branded frozen shrimp to major markets in Asia, Europe and the United States. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, as both companies are private family-owned businesses.
Headquartered in Leon, Farallon Nicaragua employs 384 people and operates a state-of-the-art hatchery, three farms and an onsite processing plant.
“The company is guided by the highest international standards in environment, health, security, and quality – all attributes shared with our existing aquaculture and wild seafood fishery divisions,” said Glenn Cooke, chief executive officer of Cooke Inc. “With their long-term expertise in the shrimp market, and emphasis on continuous innovation, Farallon is well positioned to support our expansion in the shrimp market to supply high quality, sustainable seafood.”
“Over the last two decades we have built a recognized and respected brand and look forward to continued success as part of the Cooke family of companies,” said Jose B. Martinez, founder and owner of Farallon Nicaragua. “We believe this ownership transition will allow us to realize our full potential.”
Other Deals Sealed
Meanwhile, on March 19 Cooke announced the acquisition of All Seas Wholesale, Inc., a San Francisco, California-based seafood distributor operating in the Bay area for 33 years. In addition to handling frozen products, it specializes in distributing fresh seafood and live shellfish to hotels, country clubs, airline and event caterers, upscale retail outlets and restaurants.
This is the third acquisition made in the past two months. Early in February Cooke bought the Seajoy Seafood Corporation group, one of the largest vertically integrated, premium shrimp farm operations in Latin America. Its organic Pacific white shrimp farms are situated in Honduras and Nicaragua.
“Farallon Nicaragua also produces Pacific white shrimp and offers post-larvae (PL) for commercial sale,” said Cooke. “We will integrate the company into our Seajoy operations, which allows us to utilize Seajoy’s certifications for producing environmentally and socially responsible seafood from groups such as the GAA (Global Aquaculture Alliance), 4-star BAP (Best Aquaculture Practices), and ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council).”
