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Alaska community development group acquires controlling stake in pollock supplier Glacier Fish
Nippon Suisan and the Johnson family will remain minority owners in Glacier following the transaction.
27 October 2021
Alaska community development group Norton Sound Economic Community Development Corp. (NSEDC) on Tuesday announced that it, along with it wholly owned subsidiary Siu Alaska Corp., are acquiring a controlling interest in Glacier Fish Company, one of Alaska’s leading suppliers of pollock.
The group is acquiring the stake in the company now controlled by the Breivik family, according to a press statement.
Nippon Suisan and the Johnson family will remain minority owners in Glacier following the transaction.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, and the existing management team will remain in place.
Jim Johnson, the company’s current president will lead the reorganized company as president and CEO following the closing of the transaction.
NSEDC, which represents the 15 coastal communities in the Norton Sound region, owns at-sea and shoreside processing operations for Alaska pollock, cod, crab and groundfish.
“Glacier has always been a core part of Norton Sound and this ownership change exemplifies their long‐term commitment to Glacier and its bright future,” the company said.
“Glacier Fish Company, a leader in the Bering Sea pollock fishery, has been a primary and fundamental component of NSEDC’s activities and success since the formation of the CDQ Program,” said Frank Katchatag, chair of the NSEDC board of directors.
“Three decades of partnership with GFC have intertwined its operations with ours, and we cannot be prouder to assume control of the company with Jim and his team in the wheelhouse. It is our honor to acquire the ownership held by the Breivik family and look forward to building on the legacy that Erik fought to create as we now chart the course of this amazing company from the shores of Western Alaska.”
Long history together
At the inception of the Community Development Quota program in 1992, Glacier partnered with NSEDC, and in 1998 the Breivik family, Norton Sound and John Bundy formed a new ownership group to lead the company.
In 2008, Glacier acquired the Alaska Ocean, bringing with it a new partnership with Nippon Suisan USA, expanding its quota holdings, and acquiring a platform with tremendous potential. In 2001, Erik Breivik son, Mike, joined his father and sister, Fride, at the company and he became its CEO in 2012.
Jim Johnson joined the company in 2009 and his family became partners in 2015. In 2014, Glacier acquired ownership and management rights of Iquique US, now North Star Fishing Company, and embarked along with their partners on a state‐of‐the‐art new vessel replacement project.
The Breivik family’s departure as owners and managers follows Bundy’s departure and retirement at the end of 2020.
