Fandicosta's seafood refrigeration facilities in Domaio, Moaña, Pontevedra.
Photo: Fandicosta.
Worldwide Fishing Company (WOFCO), based in Pontevedra, Galicia in Spain, continues its apparent ambitions to compete at the pinnacle of the Spanish seafood industry, with the ink now dry on its latest deal: the purchase of Fandicosta, one of Europe's main frozen seafood producers.
The deal means the fishing company, founded in 2016, now has its own frozen seafood processing plant, taking over Fandicosta's seafood refrigeration facility in Domaio, Pontevedra, with a storage capacity of 50,000 tons of fish.
As reported by Atlantico, WOFCO already owns a total of 16 internaional production plants, has 50 fishing boats in operation, and sold more than 83,000 tonnes of seafood with a turnover of EUR 300 million (USD 321.5m) in 2023.
The deal has not yet been officially announced by the companies in question, but is now being widely reported by news outlets within Spain, including La Voz de Galicia, which notes that WOFCO is now the third-largest seafood company in the country, after Nueva Pescanova and Grupo Profand.
WOFCO's purchase of Fandicosta has reportedly been in the works for a number of months now, but the transaction was completed on Monday 17 June for a nominal sum of one euro.
Fandicosta had been undergoing restructuring as part of bankruptcy arrangements in the months prior to the sale.
In 2016, Fandicosta's facilities suffered extensive fire damage and the company invested EUR 25 million (USD 26.8m) to rebuild the plant. However, despite a temporary upturn in Fandicosta's fortunes, the COVID-19 pandemic, rising energy costs and other factors put its future in doubt.
The new owners will now take on a debt of EUR 19.5 million (USD 20.9m). As part of the purchase deal, WOFCO has also agreed to retain a total of 75% of Fandicosta's existing workforce, including 90% of its 214-strong production staff, according to Spanish news outlet, Cadena Ser.