Names of potential suitors for Clearwater Seafoods are popping up like celebrity partners in a supermarket tabloid.
But no one will say publicly who is interested--or deny it.
Monday, three days after Clearwater issued a news release to squelch a report naming those said to be involved in a sale, co-founder and director John Risley says he can’t comment.
Risley told Saltwire that none of the directors of Clearwater would be able to speak as they are bound by Toronto Stock Exchange rules not to.
Clearwater announced in March it had begun a formal process to identify, review and evaluate strategic alternatives.
The review is being led by a special committee of independent directors, chaired by Brendan Paddick, which job it is to solicit, consider and evaluate proposals.
In a news release at the time, the company said its options “may include, but are not limited to, a sale of all or a portion of Clearwater’s assets in one transaction or a series of transactions, the outright sale of Clearwater, and Boettcher or other transaction involving Clearwater and a third-party, joint ventures, licensing arrangements, and various financing alternatives or other transactions.”
On Friday, Undercurrent News, a UK-based media outlet that reports on seafood industry news and trends around the world, reported sources had told them the names of the leading bidders for company assets.
According to Undercurrent News, those unnamed sources said the Canadian company Premium Brands Holdings, in collaborations with two First Nations Groups from Atlantic Canada, was one of the leading bidders. The First Nations named in the Undercurrent article were the Membertou First Nation of Nova Scotia and the Miawpukek First Nation of Conne River, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Membertou First Nation has already signed a deal with Clearwater to buy two of the company’s lobster offshore licences. That deal, worth $25 million, was announced in early September.
The trade publication reported that two other bidders for Clearwater assets are Cooke Aquaculture of New Brunswick and The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP).
Joel Richardson, vice president of public relations for Cooke Aquaculture, told Saltwire the company would not comment.
“We have a practice of not commenting on rumours about potential mergers or acquisitions,” he said.
The story did prompt Clearwater Seafoods to issue a formal press release.
“In response to market rumours,” the release stated, “the company continues to advance the strategic review process with its financial advisors to identify, review and evaluate a broad range of potential strategic alternatives available to it with a view to continuing to enhance shareholder value.”
Clearwater said, “The process is continuing in earnest and no timeline for its completion has been currently defined. There can be no assurance that any such strategic alternatives will ultimately lead to a transaction.”
As a general policy the company added, Clearwater does not publicly comment on potential transactions unless and until a binding legal agreement has been signed.
The company also stated, “All shareholders and prospective investors are encouraged to rely only on information provided by the Company in its ongoing disclosures, which are available on the Company website and on SEDAR.”
Clearwater was founded in 1976 by John Risley and then-brother-in-law Colin MacDonald, both of whom are still directors of the company,
Clearwater trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Over the past year, its share value has ranged from $2.83 to $6.80. The stock was at $6.85 per share in afternoon trading, up by more than 10 per cent in the last week.
Twitter: @BarbDeanSimmons
