US seafood major Trident Seafoods has sold its processing plant in Petersburg, Alaska, to local peer E.C. Phillips & Son.
Financial terms of the transaction, which is due to close next month, were not disclosed.
In addition to the processing plant, E.C. Phillips will also acquire the bunkhouse, galley, and two housing units in Petersburg.
Just Food has asked Trident Seafoods to confirm the total size of the assets it has sold to the group.
Commenting on the sale, Jeff Welbourn, senior vice president of Alaska operations at Trident Seafoods, said the company was “very happy to see this plant in good hands. Like the Petersburg community, E.C. Phillips is a multi-species operation with a diverse customer base”.
He added: “This means that the Petersburg plant could enjoy a longer season than it did under Trident’s banner, with an operator more focused on variety and direct distribution. This approach should set the Petersburg fleet up as a great hub in the Southeast region.”
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By GlobalData
Set up in 1926, E.C. Phillips processes seafood all year round in southeast Alaska, with other plants based in the Ketchikan and Craig regions.
Its portfolio includes fresh halibut, black cod, rock cod, shrimp, herring and sea cucumbers, as well as a range of wild Alaska salmon, among other species.
As well as supplying the US market, the company also exports to Canada. Just Food has contacted both Trident Seafoods and E.C. Phillips to confirm whether it has other global markets.
Frozen and ready-to-eat fish processor Trident Seafoods indicated it was in the “final stages” of talks with buyers for three plants last week.
The sites, which include Petersburg, False Pass and Ketchikan are all seasonal facilities.
Local fish processor Silver Bay Seafoods is to acquire the Ketchikan facility, the company said in a statement last Wednesday (13 March).
At the time, Welbourn said the three transactions were “relatively simple” and straightforward” and that the company was “simplifying the deals to facilitate closing as quickly as possible”.
A deal still remains to be finalised for the company’s fourth facility in Kodiak, which is its “largest and most complex”, Trident Seafoods said, indicating that “multiple parties” have shown an interest.
Trident Seafoods first indicated its intention to sell the four fish manufacturing sites in Alaska in December 2023.
