Case Studies

Turnaround of a Catfish Farm

J.S. Held Acquires Clark Seif Clark, Strengthening West Coast Capabilities for Environmental Claims, Disputes, and Catastrophe Response

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Home·Turnaround of a Catfish Farm

The Situation

Catfish Farm Operation. $70 million annual sales. $15 million debt.

  • The Company was a leading processor of catfish.
  • The Company was formed by a group of catfish farmers and financial investors to purchase a division of Hormel.
  • A subsequent buyout of the financial investors and an unsuccessful outsourcing of company management to Farmland Industries in anticipation of a merger that did not occur left the company without management, deeply in debt, and unprofitable.

How We Advised

Our experts were engaged as the turnaround advisor to the Board of Directors and as the investment banker to develop strategic alternatives.

  • We successfully rebuilt management and restructured operations.
  • Developed a creative equity financing approach by selling catfish delivery rights to independent farmers who wanted guaranteed processing capacity.
  • Our team’s approach generated $5.6 million of new equity capital.
  • Following this equity infusion, the senior secured debt was refinanced with $15 million in bonds issued by the State of Arkansas.

Related Practice Areas

> Turnaround and Restructuring Services 
Navigating the many challenges confronting a company in transition requires an operationally focused approach that looks beyond the balance sheet to minimize further degradation and build a path to sustainable growth. Drawing upon decades of experience in the turnaround space, we help companies in transition identify practical strategies to improve profitability and liquidity for immediate relief, while concurrently developing and executing a comprehensive turnaround plan for long-term, sustainable value creation. 

 

> Debt Restructuring Services 
When a company is in financial distress, our Strategic Advisory experts design and implement debt restructuring and refinancing strategies tailored to the company’s unique circumstances. We help middle-market businesses stabilize operations, improve liquidity, and optimize their capital structures. 

Key Contact

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