Wells Fargo Bank, the single biggest lender to beleaguered Peter Pan Seafoods, has filed a legal request to have the company moved into receivership.
The San Francisco, California, U.S.A.-based financial firm filed a petition for appointment of a general receiver in King County Superior Court in the U.S. state of Washington on 22 April 2024. The petition names Peter Pan Seafood Company, Alaska Fish Holdings, and Raymond Machine Shop as owing more than USD 60 million (EUR 56 million) that has gone past due despite requests for repayment.
Wells Fargo and Peter Pan entered into a credit agreement in July 2022 and amended the agreement on 24 February 2024, according to the petition.
The petition, filed by Wells Fargo Managing Director Gary Harrigian, asks the court to appoint the Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.-based Stapleton Group, a specialist in maximizing the recovery of capital for creditors, as controller of Peter Pan’s assets. The appointment would give the financial services firm the ability to liquidate Peter Pan’s assets to satisfy claims made by those to whom it owes money.
“Appointment of a receiver is necessary to protect, preserve, and maximize the value of the business and assets, including, without limitation, the collateral, and its revenue-producing potential to avoid further loss, injury, and impairment thereto,” Harrigian wrote in the filing.
Peter Pan has fallen into increasingly dire financial straits in recent years. It is facing a fresh set of liens from partners after coping with a previous set of claims in 2023 and closed its King Cove plant in January 2024.
It is selling its seafood-processing facility in Valdez, Alaska, U.S.A., to Silver Bay Seafoods and said it has given Silver Bay permission to operate its Port Moller and Dillingham facilities for the 2024 season and then acquire them after the season ends. Additionally, it agreed to transfer the licensing for its Demmings, Humpty Dumpty, and Double Q canned salmon brands to Silver Bay.
Rodger May, who could not be reached for comment, acquired Peter Pan in 2021 from Japanese seafood conglomerate Maruha Nichiro. The current ownership group includes Northwest Fish Co., the McKinley Alaska Private Investment-managed Na’-Nuk Investment Fund, and the RRG Global Partners Fund.
