Ocean Premier Seafood has purchased Ontario, Canada-based Toppits Foods, an importer and supplier of fresh and frozen fish and seafood to the Canadian retail, foodservice and manufacturing industries.
Ocean Premier is an international company with facilities in South Korea, Holland, Iceland and China, and focuses on sourcing, processing and shipping seafood primarily to the United States. It has an annual turnover of more than 200 million pounds of raw material, according to its website.
The acquisition is effective immediately and terms of the deal were not announced. Toppits Foods President and CEO John Mauro will change titles to chief strategy officer, chair of the board of directors and company owner Heather Gremont will retire, and Ocean Premier will install its own, new management.
"I am very happy about my decision to retire. It is time for me to move on after 40 years in the business. I really appreciate all of our customers, suppliers and staff for supporting me and this family business for all these years. I truly believe the new management will continue the Toppits legacy for many generations to come,” Gremont said in a press release announcing her company’s sale.
The acquisition allows for vertical integration, as Ocean Premier’s sourcing and processing capabilities are combined with Toppits’ sales and marketing team, according to Mauro.
“We are very excited with this vertical integration. It is a strategic move for us. We can leverage the strengths of Ocean Premier’s buying direct at source, farming and processing capabilities in its own plants. This combined with the strength of the Toppits sales and marketing team, will allow us to continue to build on the legacy of the family owned business,” Mauro said. “We are confident that our dedicated management team, with profound expertise in the industry, will continue to grow the company and provide superior products and services to our customers.”
Toppits will continue to operate out of its 75,000-square-foot facility in Vaughan, Ontario and no employees will lose their jobs as a result of the transaction, the press release said.
