Captain Fresh to Acquire Polish Seafood Firm Koral

SUMMARY

Captain Fresh plans third overseas acquisition with Poland's Koral, expanding European presence and entering $33.5 Bn salmon market.

Acquisition follows US-based CenSea and French Senecrus purchases, adding Koral's SuperFish brand to portfolio.

Backed by major investors, Captain Fresh projects $650-700 Mn revenue, actively raising funds including $7 Mn from British International Investment.

Bengaluru-based B2B seafood startup Captain Fresh is planning to acquire Poland-based food and beverage manufacturing company Koral to expand its footprint in the European market.

However, the company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

This will also mark Captain Fresh’s third overseas and second acquisition in the European market after US-based seafood importer CenSea and French shrimp distributor Senecrus.

Koral operates in the fish processing market and produces smoked salmon products under its SuperFish brand. It also offers a wide range of processed products such as tuna, halibut, trout and cod.

Captain Fresh said in a statement that the acquisition will mark its entry into the salmon market, estimated to have a size of $33.5 Bn.

The planned acquisition is part of Captain Fresh’s strategy to strengthen its global market reach in the fish and seafood sector.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval. Once the acquisition is completed, Justyna Frankowska, currently a management board member at Koral, will take on chief executive’s role.

Captain Fresh also recently appointed Mathew George as its group CFO.

Utham Gowda, group CEO of Captain Fresh, said, “This acquisition is a strategic milestone in our mission to become the leading tech-enabled multi-species, multi-origin global seafood conglomerate.”

“The European market is one of the most exciting VAP (value-added product) opportunities in seafood globally. Koral augments our earlier acquisition of France-based Senecrus, adding marquee Polish and German retailer brands to our portfolio of offering,” he added.

Founded in 2020, Captain Fresh has established itself as a major exporter and distributor of fish and seafood. The company, backed by investors including Tiger Global Management and Prosus Ventures, expects to close the current financial year with a revenue run rate of $650 to $700 Mn.

The company has also been actively raising funds to fuel its expansion. Inc42 exclusively reported in February that Captain Fresh was planning to raise about $7 Mn from British International Investment (BII), which will join the cap table with around a 1.45% stake.