Clearwater to acquire Macduff

The purchase price is £94.4m, plus approximately £4m in seasonal working capital debt for a total of £98.4m.

Ian Smith, CEO of Clearwater Seafoods said, "The acquisition of Macduff brings together two of the world's leading and fastest growing vertically integrated wild shellfish harvesters. The transaction will allow Clearwater to integrate its vessel management and sustainable harvesting practices, innovative processing technologies along with its global sales, marketing and distribution footprint into Macduff; a company that already possesses a talented local management team, excellent resource assets and a strong presence in the EU, the world's largest and most valuable seafood market. Our companies have been building a working relationship for more than three years and we are confident Macduff represents a highly attractive investment with a strong strategic fit for Clearwater."

Euan Beaton, President of Macduff Shellfish Group said, "Having reached our goal of building a £52m business, we had one suitor in mind which shares our vision and values to enable us to accelerate our growth on a global scale. With a similar vertically integrated business model, sustainability at its heart, sound employee practices and strong relationships with fishermen but operating on a much bigger scale, Clearwater is an ideal fit for Macduff.”

Clearwater says that Macduff brings abundant access to additional seafood supply in key markets and channels along with a well-established brand, UK-based harvesting and processing expertise, a strong local management team and a talented workforce.

The acquisition of Macduff will significantly enhance Clearwater's scale, and provide opportunities to access additional supply to accelerate the growth of revenues, profit and free cash flow.

Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is scheduled for 30 October 2015.