Business-to-business seafood provider Captain Fresh, which secured $25 million (Rs 209 crore) in funding this year, has agreed to buy Poland-based salmon company Koral in its third acquisition since January.
The Polish firm, founded by Boguslaw Kowalski, is a part of fish producing and processing firm Graal Group. Kural, backed by European private equity firm Abris Capital, is a producer and distributor of smoked salmon products sold across domestic and international markets under the brand SuperFish.
“This acquisition is a strategic milestone in our mission to become the leading tech-enabled multi-species, multi-origin global seafood conglomerate,” said Utham Gowda, group chief executive officer, Captain Fresh. “The European market is one of the most exciting value-added product opportunities in seafood globally.”
No financial details were provided.
The deal, while providing an exit to the PE firm, marks the Tiger Global-backed startup foray into salmon market, building on its acquisition of France-based Senecrus in February, as it expands its operations in the European market.
As a part of the transaction, Justyna Frankowska, currently a board member of the Polish firm, will take the role of chief executive officer of Koral.
Kowalski will also be a part of leading the company’s global salmon strategy, Gowda said.
“Koral augments our earlier acquisition of France-based Senecrus, adding marquee Polish and German retailer brands to our portfolio of offerings. We are also thrilled to mark our foray into the salmon value chain, which is one of the largest segments within the seafood industry,” Gowda said.
Captain Fresh earlier said it was looking to improve its distribution presence in the region through M&As and joint ventures.
It had also bought CenSea, one of America’s largest importers of frozen seafood, earlier this year.
Captain Fresh, which was founded in 2020 by Gowda, technologically enables key stakeholders in the seafood supply chain, from fishermen and farmers to processors and distributors, across all major species of the seafood basket. Its $25-million fundraise in February was a part of its Series C funding round from Nekkanti Seafoods Group, UK’s development finance institution British International Investment (BII) and a few family offices.
It had previously raised $20 million in its extended Series C round in September 2023. The round was co-led by SBI Investment and Evolvence Capital and involved participation by a few existing investors, including Accel, Matrix Partners India, Prosus Ventures and Tiger Global.
The company, also backed by Prosus Ventures, British International Investment, Z47 (fka Matrix Partners India), Accel, SBI Holdings, Evolvence Group, Ankur Capital and Incubate Fund, expects to close the current financial year with an annual revenue run rate of $650-700 million.
