The financial entity Abanca has decided to cancel the sale of 80% of its stake in Pescanova to the Canadian group Cooke, without specifying the details. What emerged was that the breakup happened by mutual agreement.

In April, both parties agreed to the sale, with Abanca retaining a minority stake in the company. However, after carrying out an exhaustive assessment (due diligence), Cooke chose to stop negotiations, as the need for further investments was detected.

Instead of the sale, Abanca announced that it was implementing a new strategy aimed at strengthening the Nueva Pescanova business project, including strategic, financial, commercial and human resources aspects. This new strategy began with the appointment of Jorge Escudero as CEO in September.

The choice of Cooke as an industrial investment partner is the result of a three-year exhaustive analysis of the sector’s leading companies worldwide by Abanca. The Canadian group operates in 12 countries in various segments related to aquaculture, fishing and marine nutrition.

As misPeces had already published, in June, Abanca financed Nueva Pescanova, of which it is the majority shareholder, thanks to a loan of 150 million euros guaranteed by the ICO within the framework of the war aid program Ukrainian.

Nueva Pescanova achieved a turnover of 1,074 million euros at the end of the financial year on March 31, representing a decrease of 1.1% compared to the previous year. In addition, the company recorded after-tax losses of 53.4 million euros, compared to a profit of 7.8 million the previous year.

Despite the cancellation of the sale, Abanca is in no rush to divest its stake in Pescanova, as there is no immediate pressure from the European Central Bank to do so. However, the banking regulator is not in favor of financial entities holding majority stakes in industrial companies and has previously encouraged divestment in similar processes.