SAINT JOHN, New Brunswick and
HOUSTON, Dec. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cooke Inc.
("Cooke"), a New Brunswick company
and parent of Cooke Aquaculture Inc., today announced the
completion of its acquisition of Omega Protein Corporation (NYSE:
OME) ("Omega Protein"), a nutritional product company and a leading
integrated provider of specialty oils and specialty protein
products.
Under terms of the transaction, Cooke has acquired all
outstanding shares of Omega Protein for $22 per share in cash, or a total value of
approximately $500 million USD.
"The acquisition of Omega Protein will help further diversify
the supply side of our business and supports our strategy of
responsible growth as a leader in seafood production," said
Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Inc. "We
are bringing together two innovative fishery teams with a passion
for delivering superior products, service, and value to our
customers in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner."
Cooke Aquaculture Inc. has achieved Best Aquaculture Practices
(BAP) certification for our North and South American salmon
aquaculture operations. BAP is the world's only aquaculture
certification program that covers the entire production chain
(hatcheries, feed mills, farms and processing plants). Omega
Protein is on track to be approved by the Marine Stewardship
Council (MSC). The MSC is the only wild-capture fisheries
certification and ecolabelling program that meets best practice
requirements set by both the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (UNFAO) and ISEAL, the global membership association
for sustainability standards.
Omega Protein is a century-old nutritional product company that
develops, produces and delivers healthy products throughout the
world to improve the nutritional integrity of foods, dietary
supplements and animal feeds. Omega Protein's mission is
to help people lead healthier lives with better nutrition through
sustainably sourced ingredients such as highly-refined specialty
oils, specialty protein products and nutraceuticals.
The Company operates seven manufacturing facilities located
in the United States, Canada and Europe. Prior
to the closing of the acquisition, the Company operated more than
30 vessels to harvest menhaden, a fish abundantly found in
the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Going forward, these vessels will be
operated by Alpha VesselCo Holdings, Inc.
"With over 1,000 employees and a purchase price of $500 Million USD, Omega Protein is the largest
acquisition in the 32-year history of Cooke," added Glenn Cooke. "We started our family-operated
company in 1985 and through the hard work of our employees have
grown to become a fully integrated global seafood leader offering a
wide array of farmed and wild-caught products to customers around
the world."
The animal feed ingredients produced by Omega Protein are an
important component in Cooke Aquaculture's production of healthy
Atlantic salmon, making this acquisition a strategic move that
greatly enhances Cooke's vertical integration.
The Cooke family of companies includes global aquaculture
divisions under Cooke Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Cooke
Aquaculture Inc. as well as a Canadian aquaculture division
operated by its affiliate, Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd. The company also
includes seafood divisions under Cooke Seafood USA, Inc. and Icicle Seafoods, Inc. Cooke
Aquaculture Inc. is a vertically-integrated aquaculture corporation
based in Blacks Harbour, New
Brunswick, Canada with salmon farming operations in
Atlantic Canada, the United States (Maine and Washington), Chile and Scotland as well as seabass and seabream
farming operations in Spain.
Aquaculture operations include land-based juvenile production,
marine farms, processing and distribution facilities and a global
sales and marketing team as well as a full value chain service and
supply sector.
In 2015, the Cooke family entered the wild fishery, creating
Cooke Seafood USA, Inc. which
acquired Wanchese Fish Company, Inc. In 2016, the family expanded
its investments in the wild fisheries through their acquisitions of
Icicle Seafoods, Inc., in the USA
and the assets of Fripur S.A., the largest fishing company in
Uruguay. With the acquisition of
Omega Protein, the Cooke family of companies now employ
approximately 6,000 people world-wide.
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SOURCE Omega Protein Corporation