Paiania, Greece-based seafood firm Avramar is closing in on a sale after a liquidity crunch led banks to hire Deliotte to oversee the process.
Business Daily Greece reported as many as eight bidders were chosen for a “short list” to submit non-binding offers to acquire Avramar. Greek publication OT reported that, so far, six of the interested parties were invited to submit competitive binding offers.
Avramar was formed in 2020 through the merger of Andromeda Group, Nireus, Selonda, and fish feed producer Perseus. According to Capital, the company had EUR 450 million (USD 489 million) in outstanding loans in September 2023, and the company was being forced to use bridge loans with high interest rates to fund its operations.
Now, four of Avramar’s major creditors – Eurobank, Ethniki, Piraeus, and Alpha – are reviewing the non-binding offers to determine the best offer.
The company produced 70,000 metric tons (MT) of sea bass, sea bream, stone bass, and pagrus across its Greek and Spanish facilities in 2022, Business Daily reported. That production spanned 12 hatcheries, more than 70 sea-farm sites, three feed plants, and packaging and processing units. Business Daily said that at last count, there are 45,000 MT of fish in the company’s aquaculture cages.
Deloitte, according to Business Daily, said that only the company’s Greece-based operations are being sold, and its Spanish subsidiary is not a part of the sale. Media also reported that it paid regular interest to the banks in 2023 and that its loans were frozen in 2024.
Hellenic Aquaculture Producers Organization President Apostolos Touralias said the potential sale is a good sign for the wider industry. OT reported that the industry was concerned the situation could have caused issues for the wider sea bream and sea bass industry.
"The participation of six non-binding offers removes the pessimistic scenario of collapse, and we should not be disappointed. Greek fish farming is attracting the interest of investors. The pessimistic thing would be for there to be no candidates,” Touralias said during a press conference.
