Santa Monica Seafood Announces Major Acquisition

Rancho Dominguez, CA – Roger O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer of Santa Monica Seafood, announced it has signed a definitive Purchase Agreement to acquire most of the seafood division assets of Prospect Enterprises, Inc.  Prospect Enterprises includes companies doing business as American Fish & Seafood, Chesapeake Fish, LA Fish Company and Cactus Cove.  The transaction does not include Kansas Marine, Prospect Enterprises’ cruise line support business, and Central Fish Company, a retail store operation in Fresno, CA.

Roger O’Brien said, “American Fish has 68 years of operating history with a well-established reputation for supplying high quality seafood.  Ernie Doizaki, Chairman of Prospect Enterprises, has been a pioneer and role model for seafood business success for decades in the California foodservice industry.  Ernie trusts us with the legacy he has created and we are accepting the challenge and responsibility of continuing the legacy he has so well established.”

Santa Monica Seafood will assume, and maintain, American Fish’s facilities and operations in Arizona and Sacramento, Chesapeake Fish’s facility and operations in San Diego, and LA Fish Company’s facility and operations in downtown Los Angeles.  Santa Monica Seafood is hopeful of hiring all the employees at these locations.  American Fish’s Los Angeles seafood division will be relocated to Santa Monica Seafood’s 120,000 square foot facility in Rancho Dominguez.

Santa Monica Seafood will acquire, in addition to the customer base and operating facilities, the trade receivables, the inventory, the trade payables, the intangible assets and most of the leased and owned trucks and equipment associated with the seafood division operations.  The transaction is targeted to close on July 4, 2015.

Roger O’Brien added, “This transaction will bring together the two largest and the two most highly regarded seafood distributors in the southwestern U.S.  I know we will learn from them and they will learn from us.  Our goal is to end up with the ‘best-of-both-companies’ in terms of our quality, our responsible sourcing, our food safety, our service and our leadership support within the seafood industry.”

Anthony Cigliano, Board Chairman and President of Santa Monica Seafood, added, “While this is a huge transaction for both companies, our goal is to make this as seamless as possible to our joint customer base.  In that regard, our intent is to maintain the operations and employees at Chesapeake Fish, LA Fish and American Fish in Arizona and Sacramento while we quickly integrate American Fish’s Los Angeles operations into our facility in Rancho Dominguez.  We are very hopeful that many of the employees of American Fish in Los Angeles will want to join us in Rancho Dominguez where we have the space and the need for good workers.”

Michael Cigliano, Executive Vice President of Santa Monica Seafood, added, “Santa Monica Seafood’s core philosophy has always been “Quality in Everything”.  American Fish, Chesapeake Fish and LA Fish are known for quality people, quality service and quality fish.  This is a good marriage of two companies – American Fish has been around for 68 years and Santa Monica Seafood has been here for 76 years.  Both companies have the history, the experience and the knowledge to continue as the preeminent seafood distributor in the southwestern United States.”

ABOUT SANTA MONICA SEAFOOD – Santa Monica Seafood, as a family-owned and operated company for the past 76 years, is the largest specialty wholesale distributor of fresh and frozen seafood in the southwestern U.S. with its corporate offices and processing facility located in Rancho Dominguez, California.  Santa Monica Seafood operates three retail stores – in Santa Monica, Costa Mesa and Santa Barbara, CA – which specialize in seafood and seafood related products.  Santa Monica Seafood has satellite facilities in Phoenix, AZ and Las Vegas, NV, as well as in Atascadero, Morro Bay and San Diego, CA.

Source: Santa Monica Seafood