Japanese seafood company Umios Corp. has announced an agreement to acquire Nova Scotia-based High Liner Foods Inc. for more than $800 million in cash. The offer values High Liner at $27 per share, marking a significant premium over the company’s recent trading price of around $15 per share on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Shares of High Liner surged nearly 77 percent to close at $26.76 following the announcement.
Thornridge Holdings Ltd., the private investment firm representing the Hennigar family—High Liner’s largest shareholder with a 41.4 percent stake—has pledged support for the transaction. However, the deal requires approval from at least 75 percent of High Liner shareholders at a meeting planned for December to proceed.
High Liner Foods, founded in 1899 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, has evolved into a major seafood processor with operations spanning Canada and the United States. It operates three main production facilities: one in Nova Scotia and two in the U.S., located in New Hampshire and Virginia. Approximately 75 percent of the company’s revenue is generated through its U.S. operations. The company employs more than 1,200 people, including 400 to 500 staff based in Canada.
The acquisition offer includes commitments from Umios to maintain High Liner’s workforce and retain its Halifax headquarters. High Liner Chief Executive Officer Paul Jewer, who will remain with the company post-acquisition, stated that the company’s focus on expanding seafood consumption in North America will continue largely unchanged. Jewer noted that Umios had initially made an unsolicited takeover proposal earlier this year, which initiated a competitive bidding process involving multiple interested parties. He described Umios’s revised offer as the most compelling on the table.
Industry analysts welcomed the deal, viewing it as advantageous for High Liner shareholders. Kyle McPhee, an analyst with ATB Cormark Capital Markets, characterized the transaction as a “great deal,” noting that High Liner had been undervalued in the Canadian equity market despite its consistent free cash flow. Another analyst, Bahamin Abdolpanah of Ventum Capital Markets, highlighted Umios’s limited North American footprint prior to the transaction, consisting mainly of pollock processing in Alaska and a surimi production plant near Seattle. He suggested that acquiring High Liner provides Umios with valuable branded retail and foodservice channels that complement its existing operations.
Abdolpanah also noted that the competitive nature of the bidding process and the limited pool of logical buyers make a higher offer unlikely before the deal closes, which is expected early next year. From a regulatory perspective, Royal Bank of Canada analyst Ryland Conrad indicated that the transaction is not subject to review under the Investment Canada Act, since Umios does not currently operate in Canada, and therefore regulatory obstacles are not anticipated.
High Liner Foods traces its origins to a salt fish business founded by the Smith family and adopted its High Liner brand name in 1926. The Hennigar family has been a significant investor in the company since the early 1980s, when it was known as National Sea Products Ltd. Upon completion of the sale, High Liner intends to delist from the Toronto Stock Exchange.