Hivest Capital Partners has acquired Réunimer– Pêcherie du Sud, a vertically integrated seafood company based in on La Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar.
Hivest Capital is an independent European private equity firm. Founded in 1996, Réunimer is comprised of five companies: Enez Peche, Reunipeche, Reunion Pelagique, Le Martin Pecheur, and Le Pecheur Creole. The companies operate across Madagascar, La Réunion, and the surrounding island territories in the Southern Indian Ocean. The sellers were identified only as the company’s founders and historical shareholders.
Hivest Capital said in a press release it will provide Réunimer with “all the resources it needs to accelerate its development, particularly in its CSR policy and the ongoing enhancement of its ESG commitments.”
“Hivest Capital, along with the group’s management team, also shares the common goal of strengthening the group’s position both in its traditional markets and internationally, including through external growth operations,” it said.
Réunimer had EUR 70 million (USD 77.5 million) in sales in 2023, up from EUR 31 million (USD 32.6 million) in 2021 and EUR 3 million (USD 3.2 million) in 2011. Hivest said the company quickly grew through both organic and external growth and especially after establishing a presence in Madagascar in 2000. It now owns around 30 ships and operates seven processing plants producing a wide range of seafood products, all certified to carry the Marine Stewardship Council eco-label.
Reunion Pelagique Import-Export Specialist Thomas Millot told SeafoodSource in 2022 that most of the company’s seafood products, which include toothfish, octopus, tuna, swordfish, marlin, and shrimp, are sent to France, where they receive a premium because of the islands’ positive reputation there. Its customer base is evenly distributed between mass retail, foodservice, and industrial clients, according to Hivest Capital.
Réunimer is also importing seafood into La Réunion including salmon, cod, and shrimp, primarily for French tourists, as the island is a popular vacation destination, Millot said.
“As we become more well-known, the business is going only up,” he said at the 2022 Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, Spain, where the companies were exhibiting. “We want to develop more activity with new customers, and we are also doing more importing.”
Réunimer President Sébastien Camus and Réunimer General Manager Olivier Méraud said they have been searching for a new owner, and are excited about Hivest Capital’s acquisition of their firm.
“We wanted our new partner to support our development while also aligning with our goal of creating local value and acting as responsible player in the fishing industry, committed to ecological practices both at sea and on land. These were the criteria on which we chose Hivest Capital, and we are excited to embark on this new journey together,” they said.
Hivest Capital has taken a majority share in the company, “facilitating a transition between the group’s leadership generations and increasing the ownership stakes of both current and future leaders,” according to Camus and Méraud. The company will continue to be based in Réunion.
Hivest Capital invests in SMEs or mid-cap companies with a turnover between EUR 50 million and EUR 500 million (USD 55.4 million and USD 554 million), primarily targeted at buyout or capital expansion projects. The firm helps its acquisitions to implement “ambitious growth strategies and [to improve] operational performance.”
“We thank the shareholders and the management team for their trust and are thrilled to support the group in its new stage of development,” Hivest Capital Associate Consultant Roland Hillion said. “We share a common ambition to become a global and responsible leader in high-value-added seafood products, while deepening the group’s ESG commitment and implementing an ambitious external growth strategy.”
