Vancouver / CA. (pbh) Premium Brands Holdings Corporation, a leading producer, marketer and distributor of branded specialty food products, announced that it has acquired Global Gourmet Foods Inc. and signed an agreement to acquire Allseas Fisheries Inc.
Global Gourmet is one of Canada’s leading providers of ready-to-eat kettle cooked food solutions, including protein-based fillings, specialty sauces, soup bases and side dishes, to retailers and restaurants in Canada and internationally, while Allseas is a leading distributor of fresh and frozen seafood to retail, foodservice, and wholesale customers in Ontario.
The Allseas transaction is expected to close in four to eight weeks and is subject to customary closing conditions including the approval of the Canadian Competition Bureau.
«The combination of Global Gourmet with our existing Gourmet Chef business will position us as the leading player in a high growth niche market that is benefiting from a number of long-term sustainable trends,» said George Paleologou, President and CEO of Premium Brands. «We are also very pleased to be partnering with Global Gourmet’s leader, Richard Breakell, who has been a key driver of its growth in recent years. Going forward, Richard will lead the combined operations of Global Gourmet and Gourmet Chef,» added Paleologou.
«Allseas will further strengthen our national seafood platform and help position us as Ontario’s leading seafood distributor,« said Paleologou. «We are also looking forward to working with Allseas’ very talented, experienced and highly respected management team to capture cost synergies and improve the depth and scope of the seafood products that Allseas and our other seafood businesses can offer to their respective diverse base of customers,» added Paleologou. «We are very proud of what we have accomplished over the past 32 years as a family owned and operated business. My mother and stepfather, Anne and Lawrence Hill, founded Global Gourmet based on their passion for providing customers with exceptional culinary products. That same passion drives us today, however, after many years of strong growth we recognized that to take our business to the next level we needed to find the right partner,» said Richard Breakell, CEO of Global Gourmet «I have followed Premium Brands for many years and have no doubt that they are that partner,» added Breakell.
«We are very excited to be joining the Premium Brands group. Its entrepreneurial culture and respect for the uniqueness of its individual businesses is the perfect environment for us to continue to execute on our business plan», said Danny Soberano, Co-founder of Allseas. «Furthermore, we are excited about leveraging the PB ecosystem to create new opportunities and to advance our business to the next level in its growth and development,» added Soberano.
The combined purchase price for the Company’s investments in Global Gourmet and Allseas is approximately USD 139 million consisting of USD 115 million in cash, USD 10 million in Premium Brands common shares and up to USD 14 million in contingent consideration. The combined revenues of the two businesses is approximately USD 204 million and both transactions are expected to be immediately accretive to Premium Brands’ earnings per share and free cash flow per share on an annual basis. «We are very excited to be once again resuming our acquisition strategy. Our pipeline of opportunities is as full as it has ever been and we look forward to making more announcements as the year progresses,» added Paleologou.
