EE.UU. - American Seafoods Expansion Marks Major Move Into Seafood Distribution

viernes 22 de noviembre de 2002

SEAFOOD.COM Nov 22, 2002- By John Sackton -- 'American Seafoods is the dominant producer of pollock, and Southern Pride Catfish is dominant in the catfish industry. By combining our two companies, the American Seafoods Group will establish a strong aquaculture component, establish a strong distribution system, and give us a chance to be more diversified', said Bernt Bodal, CEO of American Seafoods yesterday in commenting on the announced intent to purchase Southern Price Catfish.

He continued 'Southern Pride is a very strong company with excellent management, which will stay in place. They have an excellent operation, and we will not micromanage it from Seattle.' In fact, a key to the success of the combination of the two companies is for Southern Pride to continue to operate and do what it has been doing so successfully for the past seventeen years.

Southern Pride president and owner, Joe Glover, Jr., stated 'I firmly believe that our determination to move forward in new and positive directions will generate sustained growth and opportunities for our community, our employees, our farmers and our company.

Southern Pride employs more than 900 people and has annual sales in excess of $100 million. With processing centers in Greensboro and Demopolis, Southern Pride has become the largest processor of farmed raised catfish in the United States.

Glover announced, 'While in the process of forming a marketing alliance with American Seafoods International, an opportunity emerged. This opportunity came in an offer to create Southern Pride as an entity of American Seafoods Group.'
The acquisition will allow all Southern Pride departments to remain in Greensboro and Demopolis Alabama under Glover as President, while Sales and Marketing activities will continue to grow and expand under the direction of Randy Rhodes.

Currently, the sale of Southern Pride products, including fresh and frozen catfish and hushpuppies, spans the North American continent and reaches into international markets. Randy Rhodes, vice president of sales and marketing, said 'This acquisition will allow both companies to broaden marketing distribution, processing capabilities and product lines. It is a perfect fit for everyone involved.'

American Seafoods has primarily been a producer of pollock products, both at sea, where they are the largest at sea processor, and on shore, including breaded and value added products from the American Seafoods International facility in New Bedford, Mass. The acquisition of Southern Pride will move the company well into the top ten seafood producers in North America, similar in size to Fishery Products International. Based on the Seafood Business report of sales ranking in 2001, American Seafoods should see total sales of $440 to $450 million or more with the Southern Pride Acquisition, compared to $454 million listed for Fishery Products International.

The other interesting thing about this acquisition is that American Seafoods is the first major whitefish producer to fully embrace catfish, one of the fastest growing species in the U.S. In many markets, catfish readily outsells any other whitefish in retail and foodservice operations.

From Southern Pride's point of view, the merger provides an opportunity for the sales force to expand their product line beyond catfish.

Both companies become more diversified, achieve a more stable product base, and the merger appears to strengthen the competitive position of American Seafoods.