Seafood Connection BV products. (Photo: Seafood Connection BV)

Maruha Nichiro will control Seafood Connection's share majority

The huge Japanese firm Maruha Nichiro will soon control more than half the share block belonging to the Dutch importing firm Seafood Connection BV, after having concluded the terms for a share transfer agreement between both companies.

According to that agreement, Maruha Nichiro Seafoods, Inc, will purchase 52.5 per cent of the issued shares of Seafood Connection Holding BV while the other 47.5 per cent will remain for the account of CEO and co-founder Jan Kaptijn.

It is expected the transaction will have been settled by late June 2013.

Seafood Connection is one of the biggest European importers of frozen pangasius fillets from Vietnam and, every year, the company moves some 25,000 tonnes of fish products in Europe.

The Dutch company expects this agreement to increase its sales in Europe by merging into the network of Maruha Nichiro’s Group companies. In turn, the Japanese group wants to strengthen its European sales with its contribution and to benefit from the network of sales representatives and Seacon-offices in the continent.

Seafood Connection’s recent focus was to grow into the South-European countries where shrimp and cephalopod products are more popular. Also, over the years, the company has become a respected supplier to retail chains in the North-European retail market.

“It has taken Seafood Connection several years to bring our European distribution network to the current levels. It’s obvious that with this step, and with the growing ambitions of Maruha Nichiro in Europe, we will further develop this market,” Kaptijn said.

“Actually, it’s quite simple. If we want to grow we need people, products and capital.  With Maruha Nichiro we have found the right partner to achieve these goals and expand our business. The market for fish imports into Europe is still growing so the demand is already there,” Kaptijn continued.

The core business of Trans-Europe Seafood Sales BV (TESS), the current European sales-office of Maruha Nichiro, is serving the industrial reprocesses in Europe, mainly with products from North-America. While this will not change, the companies have studied mutual customers and markets to create a win-win situation that employs each other’s business networks.

Kaptijn said that its position and presence in Vietnam and its expertise in Vietnamese aquaculture represents an attractive addition to the global network of Maruha Nichiro.

Now, Maruha Nichiro is expanding its business into diverse food categories, building on its strengths in seafood products. The new business cooperation between Maruha Nichiro Seafoods and Seafood Connection is expected to create growth and sales in new and existing markets.

Seafood Connection focuses on the import, export and distribution of top-quality deep-frozen fish products. It specialises in the supply of sustainable aquaculture fish products, especially pangasius and tilapia fillets, and is the largest supplier of Alaskan pollock in the Netherlands and market leader in pre-sliced Alaska Kibbeling®.

The Maruha Nichiro Group was created in 2007 from Maruha and Nichiro over a century after their respective foundings. The new group operates globally centered on its core seafood products.

By Natalia Real
editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media

Address:	1-2 1-chome, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku
City:	Tokyo
State/ZIP:	(100-8608)
Country:	Japan
Phone:	+81 3 3216 0821
Fax:	+81 3 3216 0342
E-Mail:	info@maruha-nichiro.co.jp
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