Cooke completes Omega Protein deal

Under the terms of the deal, Cooke has acquired all outstanding shares of Houston, Texas headquartered, Omega Protein, for US$22 per share in cash, or a total value of approximately US$500m.

CEO of Cooke Inc, Glenn Cooke, said the acquisition of the fishmeal producer would help to further diversify the supply side of its business.

Omega Protein has seven manufacturing facilities in the US, Canada and Europe. Prior to the deal closing, it also operated more than 30 vessels to harvest menhaden, a fish abundantly found in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Now, those vessels are set to be run by Alpha VesselCo Holdings.

Cooke Aquaculture farms salmon in the US, Canada, Chile and Scotland; it also has seabass and seabream farms in Spain, while the Cooke family has significant investments in wild fisheries globally through Cooke Seafood USA and Icicle Seafoods.