Vigo, Spain-based Grupo Profand has purchased seafood processor and distributor Caladero from the Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona.
Mercadona purchased Caladero, which is based in Zaragoza and which specializes in value-added seafood products, in 2010, after the company experienced financial difficulties related to the global financial crisis. Caladero operates a 55,000-square-meter production plant in Plaza, Zaragoza, with a production capacity of 21,000 metric tons per year. It had sales of approximately EUR 200 million (USD 222.7 million) in 2018 and a net profit of EUR 3.4 million (USD 3.8 million).
In a press release, Mercadona said it had been looking for a company in the seafood sector to buy and continue the operations of Caladero. The acquisition by Grupo Profand, which owns 30 fishing vessels and production facilities around the globe, will guarantee Caladero offers “complementarity of business, specialization, and synergies in the short- and medium-term,” Mercadona said.
“After this period of almost a decade in which Mercadona … has managed to overcome numerous challenges seeking efficiency at Caladero and adapting its work to the needs of the market. With an accumulated investment of more than EUR 29 million [USD 32.3 million] since 2011, Caladero has become a profitable and benchmark innovative project. Its purchase by Profand will reinforce the development of the company, which is integrated into a leading business group and with a common mission based on food safety, quality, continuous improvement, sustainability, and innovation,” the company said.
The 100 percent purchase – for which a price has not been publicly revealed – is subject to approval by Spain’s National Commission of Markets and Competition. Enrique García, owner of the Profand Group, said the acquisition will “will allow Profand to boost its growth and consolidate its leadership in Spain in both volume and efficiency and productivity, thanks to the important business synergies that we can develop in the short-and medium-term.”
“The acquisition of Caladero means completing our specialization process both from the extractive part and in the final part of the value chain,” García said. “The integration of Caladero allows us to be world leaders in the manufacture of products with high added value both clean fresh fish, for heating or cooking and ready-to-eat product. "
Profand operates processing plants located on four continents, including two in Spain, with specialization in sepia, octopus, squid, squid, and shrimp. The Caladero facility will add expertise the processing of salmon, sea bream, sea bass, sardine, and trout, and will increase the company’s efforts to create new frozen products and heat-and-eat meals.
Photo courtesy of Grupo Profand
