Abanca is evaluating at least three offers from foreign investors for Nueva Pescanova

The first fishing group in Spain, founded in 2015, after the bankruptcy of the parent company, Pescanova SA, (founded in 1960 in Vigo by José Fernández López) is close, very close, to changing hands. The company that was saved and recapitalized by Abanca, which owns 97% of the capital, —as “available assets intended for sale”— had been on the market for a little over a year, when the financial institution was entrusted The Rothschilds distribution of the sales book in order to find an industrial partner, ready to take a majority share in the fishery.

From the outset, Abanca’s aim, apart from injecting solidity into Nueva Pescanova, was to find partner of the sector, preferably Galician, with the economic lungs and knowledge of the sector necessary to take over the supervision of the fishing group and its advancement.

Profand said no

This goal was clear from the beginning: deep, which in 2021 exceeded the limit of 800 million for collection, after raising it by 20% (latest published accounts). But the tripartite negotiations –Abanca, Profand and Mercadona (the main buyer of the group he chairs Enrique Garcia Chillon)—did not progress and the operation was completely ruled out.

They were not successful either, according to sources in the sector, with whom negotiations were opened Iberian frozen food, Iberconsaa group taken over by a North American fund Platinum Equity 2020 and was captain Alberto Freire which reached sales of 362 million in 2021. Duplication between both groups would be one of the disadvantages, despite the fact that Iberconsa has the capacity to face the purchase of Nueva Pescanova, and is actually working on an operation to take over the group’s fishing vessel from Vigo mascotwith whom he is in negotiations.

With local partners ruled out, Nueva Pescanova received offers from investment banks that were rejected from the start, according to fishing industry sources. Now, several weeks after the closing of the sale, as the intention, according to market sources, is to complete the deal by the end of March, possible negotiations between Abanza and at least three foreign groups are beginning to emerge. related to the production or marketing of fishery products.

He stands out among them Red chamber, an American multinational company based in California, with sales of about 2,000 million. Business insiders confirm Abanza’s negotiations with the Americans, who have a shrimp, crab and hake processing factory in Argentina, and they would be particularly interested in a daughter company. argenova, from Nueva Pescanova—; and two more in the United States. Although, according to these same sources, it is a group of more distribution than industrial nature.

Canadian group cook He would also show interest in Nueva Pescanova, but not for the whole group, but for the shrimp business, and specifically for the camanica, a branch of the group in Nicaragua, with about 4,500 cultivated hectares, which has the largest center for the production of larvae in the Americas, with a production of 600 million per month. Its processing plant can produce up to 30,000 tons per year. Undoubtedly the jewel in the crown of Nueva Pescanova, the sale of which would bring a good injection of capital to the fishing group, with a debt of more than 600 million euros; although the sector admits that the sale of this subsidiary would mean the loss of one of the main assets and would devalue the sale price of the group.

Before March 31

What is the price that Abanca has set for Nueva Pescanova? In the last 12-month financial year, which ended in March 2022, the company sold 21.4% more (1,087 million euros), even exceeding the sales figure from the pre-pandemic year 2019 by 4.4%. And it doubled its ebitda, which reached 80 million euros compared to 39.5 million the previous year.

Considering that the sale price is determined by multiplying its ebitda by 10, the figure would be around 800 million euros, an amount that does not count the two key values ​​for the fishing group that must be added: brand potential and access to resources, along with the availability of fleets and processing facilities in different parts of the world. Although, sources familiar with the results that the group will present at the end of this month show an operating result significantly below that achieved in 2022.