Nueva Pescanova facts for kids
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Formerly
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Pescanova, S.A. |
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| Sociedad Anónima | |
| Traded as | BMAD: PVA FWB: PNV |
| Industry | Fishing |
| Founded | Pontevedra, Spain (June 1, 1960) |
| Founder | José Fernández López |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Fresh Fish, Frozen Fish, Value-added Fish products, Fish meals, Frozen food |
| Revenue |  € 1.49 billion (2009) |
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Operating income
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€ 88 million (2009) |
| Total assets | € 964 million (2009) |
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Number of employees
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7,700 (3,399 in Spain) |
| Subsidiaries | Fishco, Acuinova, Aliholding |
Nueva Pescanova (which used to be called Pescanova, S.A.) is a Spanish company that sells seafood. Its main office is in Redondela, Galicia. This big company works in 17 different countries and has about 12,400 employees.
In April 2013, the company had to ask for legal protection because it had serious money problems.
Contents
About the Company
Nueva Pescanova has its main office in Pontevedra, Redondela, Spain. It works in 17 countries around the world. The company owns more than 60 fishing boats. It also raises fish in special farms in Spain, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Ecuador.
The person in charge of the company, its chief executive officer, is José María Benavent Valero.
Early History
Pescanova was started in 1960 by José Fernández López. He set up the company in Vigo. Right from the start, Pescanova used new technology to process fish. A good example of this was the factory ship, which was a special boat that could catch and process fish right on the ocean. This was not common in Spain back then.
This way of doing business worked very well. It helped the company grow steadily and become one of the biggest businesses in the fishing industry.
In 1980, Manuel Fernández de Sousa-Faro, who was the son of the founder, became the president. After making some changes, Pescanova grew into a large international company. In 1985, its shares started being traded on the Madrid Stock Exchange, which is where people can buy and sell parts of companies.
Financial Problems
On April 15, 2013, Pescanova had to ask a Spanish court for protection because of its money problems. The company had a lot of debt. The court agreed to help and decided to bring in independent people to manage the company instead of the old board.
On the same day the company asked for help, it was revealed that Manuel Fernandez Sousa, the former head, had sold some of his shares in the company. He did this in the months before the company asked for help, and he didn't tell the authorities, which he was supposed to do by law.
By January 2014, the company had even more debt. Several international investment groups were interested in helping the company get back on its feet. The company continued to operate while under court protection. Some of the groups interested in helping were:
- Damm, Luxempart, KKR, and Ergon Capital Partners
- Centerbridge and Bluecrest (these are investment groups)
- Major Spanish banks like Banco Sabadell, Banco Popular, NCG Banco, Bankia, CaixaBank, Santander, and BBVA
The company's current leaders and some smaller shareholders disagreed on how to fix things. A director of Pescanova, Luis Angel Sanchez Merlo, left his job on January 14, 2014.
At the same time, there were talks to separate Pesca Chile, another part of the company, from the rest. This was being discussed with Cooke Aquaculture from Canada and Econsult from Philadelphia.
On February 17, 2014, Pescanova announced that it had even more loans that needed to be paid back. The lenders were willing to accept losing a lot of money on the debt if they could get a large share (90%) of the company.
On May 2, 2014, the main Spanish banks that were owed money agreed to end the bankruptcy protection. This meant the company could continue to be one of Galicia's big international businesses. As a result, Jose Carceller of Damm and Francois Tesch of Luxempart, who had been trying to control the company, left the board of directors.
On May 23, 2014, Pescanova officially came out of bankruptcy after 403 days. The plan to fix the company's money problems was supported by 65% of its main banks. The company was still managed by a company called Deloitte until the next meeting of its shareholders. On May 22, Deloitte announced that Juan Manuel Urgoiti, who had been the chairman since September 2013, had resigned.
On January 8, 2015, Manuel Fernandez Sousa-Faro was criticized because he didn't tell the court about some of his properties. He had been fined for his part in the company's collapse. In January 2014, Fernandez and several colleagues had been found responsible for their contributions to the company's problems.
On February 2, 2015, the company announced that it had made a profit of €1.6 billion. This was a big change from the year before when it had lost a lot of money. By February 6, 2015, a New York-based investment fund called Broadbill Investment Partners had bought 3.69% of Pescanova. The Spanish financial regulator showed that Pescanova's former chairman, Manuel Fernandez de Sousa, was still the biggest shareholder with 7.5% of shares. He was followed by Carolina Herrero Masaveu with 7.1% and the Spanish brewery Damm with 6.2%.
After the bankruptcy process, the people who were owed money took control of the company's assets. They did this through a new main company called Nueva Pescanova, S.L. As of 2021, Pescanova S.A. only owns a very small part (0.34%) of Nueva Pescanova.
After the Financial Problems
After facing more money troubles because of rising prices around the world, two companies, Cooke from Canada and Red Chamber from America, were talking about buying Nueva Pescanova in February 2023.
Octopus Farming
Nueva Pescanova was the first company in the world to successfully raise octopuses in captivity. This means they were able to breed them in special farms.
In 2023, the company planned to build a large octopus farm in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. However, scientists and groups that care about animal welfare did not agree with these plans. Groups like Compassion in World Farming and Eurogroup for Animals raised concerns about the farm.
See also
In Spanish: Nueva Pescanova para niños
- Port of Vigo
