Aker Seafoods sells Spanish subsidiary

Aker Seafoods has sold all its shares of the Spanish harvesting company Pesquera Ancora to UK Fisheries Limited, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to Aker Seafoods.

Pesquera Ancora owns cod quotas in the Barents sea and off the coast of Canada, which in 2010 allows harvesting of approx 3,300 MT of fish. The company harvests the fish with its own trawlers, and employs a total of 52 people.

The revenue for 2009 was EUR 3.8 million (2008: EUR 5.5 million, 2007: EUR 1.6 million), and the company generated in 2009 profit after tax of EUR 1.8 million (2008: EUR (2.6) million, 2007: EUR 0.6 million). Pesquera Ancora's total assets on December 31st 2009 was EUR 3.8 million (2008: EUR 3.5 million, 2007: EUR 5.9 million), and gross interest bearing debt was EUR 0 million (2008: EUR 0 million, 2007: EUR 0 million).

The transaction values the company at EUR 18.5 million plus working capital at the time of settlement, and the purchase price is paid in cash. The sale is expected to create a gain of approx NOK 20 to 25 million for Aker Seafoods.

Aker Seafoods will in connection with the transaction pay the managing diretor of Pesquera Ancora a non recurring bonus.

- In our opinion, there were not significant synergies between Pesquera Ancora and the rest of the Aker Seafoods group, and the strategic rationale for ownership of Pesquera Ancora was not present. We consider that cash released from the sale increases flexibility to develop Aker Seafoods core business. The sales price is satisfactory and demonstrates that qutoas to harvest white fish has significant value, says Thomas Farstad, CEO of Aker Seafoods ASA.