Zachary Scott is excited to announce the recapitalization of Ocean Beauty Icicle (“OBI”, or the “Company”) wherein Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation (“BBEDC”) replaced its partner of five years, Cooke Aquaculture (“Cooke”), with Silver Bay Seafoods (“Silver Bay”). After advising Ocean Beauty Seafoods (“OBS”) on its merger with Icicle Seafoods (“Icicle”) in 2020 to create OBI, as well as a subsequent recapitalization of Ocean Beauty Seafoods, we, along with BBEDC and the teams at OBI and Perkins Coie, worked together to accomplish a transaction to allow for the continued success of a critical Alaska industry.

Situation

OBI is a processor of fresh, frozen, and canned seafood in the state of Alaska with ten processing locations. Headquartered in Seattle, WA, OBI serves a global customer base with the highest quality Alaska seafood products.

OBI was created in 2020 when Ocean Beauty Seafoods, owned by BBEDC and the original owners of OBS, and Icicle Seafoods, owned by Cooke Aquaculture, contributed their businesses to a newly formed OBI, with OBS and Icicle each retaining 50% ownership.  Shortly thereafter, BBEDC bought out its long-standing partners at OBS leaving the effective ownership of OBI as a 50/50 partnership between BBEDC and Cooke. After a challenging years-long period post-merger, Cooke ultimately expressed a desire to divest its ownership interest in OBI.

ZS Role

Building on a long history of strategic advisory work with BBEDC and deep knowledge in the sector, Zachary Scott was engaged to evaluate options to maximize the value of the OBI operations in combination with others and achieve Cooke’s goal of exiting the business.

Results

To address the economic reality of the salmon industry, it was clear that further consolidation gave the best potential for long term economic success. After considering several options, Silver Bay Seafoods emerged as the best strategic fit with OBI. To achieve the desired operating synergies, OBI was recapitalized such that Silver Bay bought out Cooke’s ownership stake and took over the management of the business. Zachary Scott represented BBEDC in negotiating the terms of the reorganization.

In a press release announcing the summation of the transaction, BBEDC CEO Michael Link shared, “With the many challenges facing Alaska’s seafood industry, BBEDC recognizes the importance of strategic partnerships to support Alaska’s regional fishing economies. We are pleased to partner with another strong Alaska company to achieve the efficiencies this industry needs to remain competitive in a global economy.”

Zachary Scott is proud to have supported companies and groups in the Alaska ecosystem with their most difficult strategic advisory needs. Past clients include Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association (“APICDA”), Aleutian Spray Fisheries, Blue North Seafoods, Bristol Bay Native Corporation (“BBNC”), Clipper Seafoods, Coastal Villages Regional Fund (“CVRF”), Colville, Copper River Seafoods, Frontier Packaging, The Mariner Companies, McKinley Capital, Northland Services, Northline Seafoods, Orca Bay Seafoods, Premier Pacific, Snopac Seafoods, Trident Seafoods, US Seafoods, and Wards Cove Packing Company.