UAE company closes in on Avramar deal

Yesterday Aqua Bridge CEO Mohammed Tabish confirmed on LinkedIn yesterday that his company was moving towards a deal  for Avramar, which has been struggling with declining sales and rising cost inflation.

Tabish said: “As we move toward a seamless transition, I want to reassure all our stakeholders that Aqua Bridge Group is fully committed to ensuring stability, fostering innovation, and driving a successful transformation. Our vision is to honour AVRAMAR’s remarkable legacy while shaping a sustainable, future-driven aquaculture leader.”

Avramar is the Mediterranean’s largest fish farmer, employing 2,300 people. While it has operations in Spain, 70% of its production is in Greece and it is there that most of its financial problems come from.

Reports in the European media suggest that the deal with Aqua Bridge will include a “haircut” for the group’s lenders that would reduce its liabilities by around 70%, excluding a bridging loan of €20m (£16.9m) provided earlier this year. Aqua Bridge has reportedly offered to inject between €60m and €80m (£50.6m-£67.4m) into the business.

The Aqua Bridge Group offers aquaculture consulting and operations management services and was the first to breed sea bream juveniles in the UAE. It already owns several operations, consulting and seafood trading subsidiaries.

Deloitte, as the lead advisor for the restructuring process, had reviewed binding offers from Spain’s Atitlan and Diorasis (the main shareholder of Philosofish, in Greece) as well as Aqua Bridge.

Mohammed Tabish thanked Deloitte for their help in getting the deal near to completion. Meanwhile his message for the Avramar team in Greece was: “Stay focused, stay inspired, and keep pushing forward. Together, we are building a future filled with opportunity, growth, and shared success. I am truly excited about the possibilities ahead and am confident that, as a united team, we will achieve greatness."