Nueva Pescanova has offloaded its chilled seafood business in France to Ecuadorian shrimp supplier Grupo Omarsa.
In a statement yesterday (30 September), the Spanish seafood supplier said the transaction is part of a “strategic asset review” to achieve “greater efficiency” and drive value creation.
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Nueva Pescanova will retain its frozen seafood business in the country, a unit that will continue to trade through its subsidiary, Pescanova France.
Jorge Escudero, Nueva Pescanova’s CEO, said the deal “allows us to focus on the assets that are strategic” for the company and that offer the “greatest growth potential, while contributing to developing our position in the frozen seafood market in France”.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the agreement, Omarsa will take over all staff employed within the chilled products division, although the numbers were not revealed.
For Omarsa, a family-owned vannamei shrimp farmer and processor founded in 1977, the purchase supports its ongoing commercial expansion across Europe.
Nueva Pescanova said the sale will “help drive the future growth of this [chilled products] division, as Grupo Omarsa is a leading operator in the sector”.
Sandro Coglitore, Omarsa’s CEO, added: “The transaction represents an important strategic entry for Omarsa into the French chilled shrimp market, strengthening our relationships with foodservice and retail customers in the region.”
It “presents a good fit with our growth plans to become a global vertically integrated shrimp player”, Coglitore added.
The sale follows Nueva Pescanova’s return to profit in its 2025 financial year, ending a run of consecutive annual losses.
The Vigo-headquartered company generated a net profit of €1.1m ($1.2m).
That contrasted with a €37.9m loss logged over the nine months from April through December 2024 as Nueva Pescanova adjusted its accounting period to match calendar year reporting. Otherwise, it delivered a €91m loss on a comparable 12-month basis.
Over the full year, revenue climbed 7.3% to €1.05bn against 2024’s like-for-like 12-month figure, whilst EBITDA jumped 56.5% to €71.2m.
Announcing the results in March, the business attributed the rebound to commercial top-line gains combined with a two-year cost-control and operational streamlining programme aimed at lifting margins.
Globally, Nueva Pescanova maintains operations across 16 countries, with a workforce of approximately 9,000 distributing seafood to more than 80 international markets.
