Premium Brands Holdings Corp. is paying half of a $537 million deal to buy Clearwater Seafoods Inc.
Premium Brands is partners with a group of Mi’kmaq First Nations, led by Membertou First Nation.
Halifax-based Clearwater is the largest holder of shellfish licences and quotas in Canada, and in March the company announced a strategic review.
“This is a transformational moment for all the participating Mi’kmaq communities,” Chief Terry Paul of Membertou First Nation said in an interview.
The transaction relates to offshore fishing and is not connected to the “moderate livelihood” inshore fishery that has been at the centre of conflict between Mi’kmaq and non-First Nations lobster fishermen in recent months.
