Japanese firm Maruha Nichiro has expanded its footprint by acquiring a 33.3% stake in Spanish company Inlet Seafish for an undisclosed sum.

Headquartered in Parc Sagunt, Valencia, Inlet Seafish has been active in the Spanish frozen seafood market for more than two decades.

It has offices for monitoring, inspection and purchase of products in countries such as  India, Vietnam, Iceland and China.

As part of the deal, the Japanese company intends to acquire a majority stake in the Spanish firm over the next two years.

The deal was executed via Maruha Nichiro’s subsidiary Seafood Connection.

Seafood Connection CEO Jan Kaptijn said: “Inlet Seafish will strengthen our position in sales of seafood products in the Spanish market.”

Seafood Connection has been supplying a range of frozen seafood products to retailers, wholesalers and food processing companies. The firm has been part of Maruha Nichiro Corporation since 2013.

Through this deal, Inlet Seafish will gain access to Maruha Nichiro’s large sourcing network, which currently has 187 companies across the globe.

Maruha Nichiro commercial director Raphael Campuzano said: “We have strong ambitions for growth. This deal will give Maruha Nichiro a much wider reach into the Spanish wholesale and retail segment, particularly on a local level.”

Seafood Connection said the deal was closed between Eino Brand and Rafael Campuzano for Inlet and Kaptijn.

Seafood Connection, which sells its products under several brand names, trades more than 70,000 metric tonnes of frozen fish products every year via its network of retail, foodservice, wholesale and industrial customers.