April
5, 2006
Acquisition
of North American Seafood Distributor (F.W. BRYCE, Inc.)
Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. ("Nissui"; Naoya Kakizoe, President & CEO)
has agreed to acquire F.W. BRYCE, Inc., a seafood distributor in the United
States. The agreement will be signed by F.W. BRYCE and Nippon Suisan (U.S.A.),
Inc., the U.S.A. consolidated subsidiary of Nissui to which the management
of F.W. BRYCE will report.
Through the acquisition, Nissui aims to establish a base for the Group's
seafood sales to the North American market and to increase business synergies
between Group companies in the North American region, in line with the
North American strategy outlined in its 2006-2011 medium-term management
plan dubbed the New TGL (True Global Links) Plan. The United States, where
demand for seafood is increasing each year, is positioned as an important
market for the Nissui Group. F.W. BRYCE already has a long-standing trade
relationship with Gorton's (*1), and by strengthening its relationships
with Unisea (*2), King & Price (*3) and Fishking (*4), Nissui will promote
greater synergy among these companies.
Nissui is currently working to establish a global supply chain and achieve
market globalization in accordance with the New TGL (True Global Links)
Plan. Nissui's acquisition of F.W. BRYCE is compatible with the objectives
of the plan, and will help to raise the value of the Nissui Group.
| The following companies are consolidated subsidiaries
of Nissui: |
| • |
Gorton's Inc.(*1) |
| |
Producer of frozen seafood products for the retail and foodservice
sectors. Head office in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Member of the Nissui
Group since October 2001. |
| • |
Unisea, Inc.(*2) |
| |
Seafood processing company with a production base in Alaska. Head
office in Seattle, Washington. Member of the Nissui Group since June
1974. |
| • |
King & Prince Seafood Corp.(*3) |
| |
Producer of frozen seafood products (mainly shrimp) for the foodservice
sector. Head office in Brunswick, Georgia. Member of the Nissui Group
since July 2005. |
| • |
Fishking Processors, Inc. |
| |
Producer of frozen seafood products and processed seafood (surimi,
salmon). Head office in Los Angeles, California. Member of the Nissui
Group since August 1996. |
| [Profile of F.W. BRYCE] |
| • Company Name : |
F.W.BRYCE, INC. |
| • Head Office : |
Gloucester, State of Massachusetts, United States of America |
| • Representative : |
Keith Moores (President) |
| • Established : |
1947 |
| • Main Business : |
Development, import and sale of marine products
(Provides product development, quality control, shipment and distribution
services based on contractual agreements with clients) |
| • Main Products : |
Crab, salmon, white-fleshed fish |
| • Sales : |
US$41 million |
| • Major Clients : |
SYSCO (Distributor with a national network)
PUBLIX (Supermarket chain in the top 10 nationally) |
