Macduff Shellfish Group, one of Europe's leading wild shellfish companies, will help expand Clearwater's supply by 20 per cent (approx. 15 million lbs) through the addition of high quality scallops, langoustine, whelk and crab.
Clearwater will acquire the company for £94.4 million plus approximately £4 million in seasonal working capital debt agreed with existing owners, the Beaton Family and Change Capital Partners.
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 £52 million 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.
"This deal is great news for our operations in the UK, bringing investment and access to new markets within an extremely successful and respected business. It provides learning and development opportunities for our staff as we share best practice with Clearwater and it gives fishermen access to more markets."
The deal is expected to close on or before 30 October, 2015.
You can read more on the deal, here.
