Top Seafood M&A Trends Shaping the 2025 Market: Part 1

Many big mergers and acquisitions in the seafood industry last year are carrying forward into 2025. It was a busy year, with companies like ACON Investments, Captain Fresh, Cooke, and Pacific Seafood Group making significant deals.

Some planned sales, like American Seafoods Group (ASG), Avramar Seafood, and Milarex are either on hold or in progress as we kick off 2025. UK private equity CapVest Partners’ move into US smoked salmon production is also on pause.

In Alaska, processing consolidation and Japanese seafood companies eyeing global mergers and acquisitions are expected to be big stories in 2025. Bregal Partners, the major shareholder in ASG, paused a sale process last year due to low offers, but there are signs that prices are starting to improve.

Former ASG CEO Einar Gustafsson is reportedly putting together a bid for ASG with the involvement of Coastal Villages Regional Fund (CVRF), a community development quota group from Alaska. Acon Investments recently closed a deal to acquire Atlantic Capes Fisheries, creating a $500 million shellfish platform.

Captain Fresh, known for acquisitions in 2024, is eyeing an IPO in 2025 after buying Koral and CenSea. The CEO of Captain Fresh, Utham Gowda, hinted at plans for US salmon processing and further EU expansion in an exclusive interview.

These stories and trends are shaping the seafood M&A landscape into 2025, so keep an eye out for part 2 of this series coming soon.