Alantra Private Equity joins Unión Martín as a partner

Unión Martín opens its shareholding to Alantra Private Equity with the aim of boosting its growth and its internationalization plan. The current management team will continue as a reference shareholder and will remain at the forefront in the management of the business.

Based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Unión Martín has 20 years of history and is one of the national leaders in the production and marketing of sea products, specialized in cephalopods.

The company has a strong position in the national territory and is present in other countries such as Italy, Greece and the United States.With this operation, Alantra PE completes its fifth investment from its third Alantra PEF III fund, which, with a size of 450 million euros, is one of the largest funds raised in the Spanish mid-market segment.

Madrid– The Spanish company Unión Martín opens its shareholding to Alantra Private Equity Fund III, fund managed by Alantra Private Equity. The management team will continue as a reference shareholder in the company as well as in the daily management and operation of the business. The operation is subject only to approval by the antitrust authorities.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain), Unión Martín is, with a revenue of more than 80 million euros, one of the national leaders in the production and marketing of seafood, with a strong specialization in cephalopods (octopus, squid, cuttlefish), flatfish (sole, flounder) and finfish (chernes, croaker, snapper).

Unión Martín stands out for its vertically integrated business model from sourcing of species to its subsequent transformation and commercialization. The company maintains a strong position in the main and most prestigious cephalopod fishing grounds in the world (Morocco and Mauritania), where Unión Martín controls a fleet of 20 vessels through numerous exclusive supply agreements with different local shipowners, including four freezer fishing boats in Morocco owned by its Moroccan subsidiary Palma Pesca.

Additionally, Unión Martín has two fish processing plants in Las Palmas, from which it markets its products both in Spain and internationally. Its products reach countries such as Italy, Greece, the United States, Japan, China, Uruguay.

The expansion and growth plan of Unión Martín, being a reference player in the cephalopod sector, aims to reinforce its position at sourcing level by incorporating new fleet as well as increasing its processing capabilities in order to improve its service and expand the product offering for its customers. Unión Martín will continue its international expansion plan, one of the main pillars of growth for the coming years.

At the head of Unión Martín, José Lorenzo Noda Martín, Pablo Gómez-Pablos Calvo and Antonio Socuéllamos Esparcia will remain as shareholders and managers. The Executive Director, José Lorenzo Noda, commented that: “With the support of Alantra, we will be able to institutionalize our Company to a greater extent, strengthen our management and advance in the process of internationalization of our activity.”

Furthermore, Gonzalo de Rivera, CEO of Alantra Private Equity, has shown his satisfaction of being able to participate as partner in a company “capable of guaranteeing a product of consistent quality thanks to its unique positioning, its solid relationships with both suppliers and clients and with a high potential for growth and international expansion, which makes it a unique consolidation platform in a sector that is still very fragmented”. Also, Gonzalo de Rivera considers key to “continue to have the support of the management team of Unión Martín in the new stage that the Company starts from now.”

Transaction terms remain confidential.

Deal Advisors:

Advisors to the sellers: EY (exclusive M&A advisor and legal advisor)

Advisors to Alantra: PwC (exclusive M&A advisor), Jones Day (legal and labour), Deloitte (financial and tax), PwC Strategy& (commercial), Marsh (insurance) and ERM (environmental)