Alliance buys US fish firm

MANILA, Philippines—Alliance Select Foods International Inc. has entered into a deal to acquire 100 percent of Massachusetts-based salmon smoking and curing firm Spence & Co. Ltd., transforming the local firm into a regional salmon processing giant.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Alliance said it had signed a deal to acquire the US fish company through subsidiary ASFI Choice Foods Inc. for $8.5 million.

“This makes Alliance the region’s largest player in the global smoked salmon market,” said Alliance president and chief executive officer Jonathan Dee in a text message from Boston.

“Our new factory Big Glory Bay will also supply food service products for US distribution. (There are) synergies everywhere,” Dee added.

Spence & Co. will be Alliance’s third smoked salmon venture, which is seen helping the Filipino firm make inroads into the lucrative US seafood market.

Spence, which was founded in Brockton, MA in 1990, specializes in the production of smoked salmon and seafood in the Scottish tradition of its founder Alan Spence. It caters to the high-end consumer market in the United States.

“An investment in Spence is another step toward Alliance’s goal of diversifying its product line to enhance shareholder value and ensure future profitability,” Alliance spokesperson Rajat Balain disclosed to the exchange.

Based on its website, Spence produces not only smoked salmon but also smoked steelhead trout, smoked mackerel, smoked bluefish, whitefish, finnan haddock and char and mustard dill sauce.

To partly finance the acquisition, which is expected to be completed by early August, Alliance has obtained board approval to sell new shares to existing shareholders.

The PSE suspended trading on Alliance starting 9 a.m. on Tuesday pending the submission of additional disclosure of pertinent details on the transaction.

Formerly known as Alliance Tuna International, Alliance started commercial operations in 2004 to engage in tuna processing, canning, and export of canned tuna products in General Santos City in Mindanao.

The company, founded by Filipino-Chinese businessman Jonathan Dee, exports to Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and South America as a “private label manufacturer” of canned tuna and processes and tuna cans using its customers’ brands.