Abris agrees sale of Koral to Captain Fresh
Abris signs partnership with India-based global seafood company, consolidating Koral into the seafood supply chain
24 July 2024 – Abris Capital Partners (“Abris”), the ESG transformation specialist private equity investor, has signed an agreement to sell Koral, a producer and distributor of salmon products – part of its investment in Graal Group – alongside the company’s founder, Bogusław Kowalski. The transaction is subject to Polish antimonopoly and other regulatory approvals.
The agreement sees Abris sign a partnership with Captain Fresh, India’s leading tech-led seafood supply chain company backed by major investors, including Tiger Global Management, Prosus Ventures, British International Investment, Z47 (fka Matrix Partners India), Accel, SBI Holdings, Evolvence Group, Ankur Capital and Incubate Fund. Koral will become a key platform for the international market development of salmon products within the Captain Fresh group, in which Abris will take a stake.
Based in Kukinia in Poland, Koral manufactures smoked salmon products that are sold across Poland and internationally. The company has 26 production lines, processing 120 tons of fish daily. The partnership with Captain Fresh follows Abris’ separate exit of the Graal business to German food business Müller Group, which was agreed in February 2023.
Kamil Gajdziński, Investment Manager at Abris, commented:
“This partnership between Koral and Captain Fresh is further evidence of the fantastic potential of Central European businesses and the growing appetite of international conglomerates for investment opportunities in the region. This has been a successful collaboration for Abris, Bogusław Kowalski, Graal and Koral, and we are pleased that we have found the ideal partner in Captain Fresh, which will drive international growth and further consolidation in this sector.”
The transaction with Captain Fresh follows a seven-year investment period, during which Koral has grown revenues and Ebitda consistently, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical challenges. Abris acquired a majority stake in Graal and Koral in February 2017, in what was the first public-to-private transaction in which a private equity fund partnered with a business founder to complete a tender offer for 100% of a company’s shares, and to subsequently delist the business from the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Following its investment, Abris, together with the management team, focused on implementing a broad range of value creation initiatives, including operational improvements, commercial strategy implementation, developing and strengthening the sales and marketing functions and investing significantly in capex programs.
Utham Gowda, Group Chief Executive Officer, Captain Fresh, commented:
“We are pleased to welcome Koral to the Captain Fresh group. This acquisition is a strategic milestone in our mission to become the leading tech-enabled multi-species, multi-origin global seafood conglomerate. The European market is one of the most exciting VAP (value-added product) opportunities in seafood globally. Koral augments our earlier acquisition of France-based Senecrus, adding marquee Polish and German retailer brands to our portfolio of offerings. Koral’s ‘smoked’ format capability complements Senecrus’ ‘cooking’ format capability. We are also thrilled to mark our foray into the salmon value chain, which is one of the largest segments within the seafood industry. With seasoned leaders Boguslaw Kowalski and Justyna Frankowska leading our global salmon strategy, we are gearing up for the next phase of growth.”