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HALIFAX- Premium Brands Holdings Corp. and a group of Mi’kmaq First Nations have banded together to buy Clearwater Seafoods in a billion-dollar deal the seafood company’s chairman says is a step toward “advancing reconciliation in Canada.”
The deal announced Monday would be the largest investment in the seafood industry by a Canadian Indigenous group and comes eight months after Halifax-based Clearwater said it was exploring a possible sale.
The Mi’kmaq First Nations coalition, led by the Membertou First Nation, and Premium holdings will each acquire half ownership of Clearwater through the new partnership FNC Holdings Ltd.
Membertou First Nation Chief Terry Paul called the purchase of Atlantic Canada’s largest fishing company “a transformational opportunity for the Mi’kmaq.”
In a statement, he said the deal will allow Mi’kmaq “to become significant participants in the commercial fishery through the investment in existing infrastructure, management expertise, and a global market presence,.”
The transaction has received unanimous approval of Clearwater’s board and is subject to approval by Clearwater shareholders in January.
The $1-billion sale, including debt, would see Clearwater shareholders receive $8.25 per share which represents a 60.2 per cent premium to the average volume-weighted average price for the 20-day period preceding the strategic review announcement on March 5.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2020.
Companies in this story: (TSX:CLR, TSX:PBH)
