OTTAWA: A legal battle has erupted for control of Ocean Choice International (OCI), with a Canadian affiliate of an Icelandic firm alleging that OCI is being mismanaged.
The lawsuit was launched by Landvis Canada, which is the Canadian division of an Icelandic company called Visir.
Landvis owns 49 percent of OCI, but now it wants total control.
The Icelandic partners are accusing brothers Martin and Blaine Sullivan of putting their own interests ahead of those of the company.
Landvis argues that it has sunk a lot of money into OCI over the past several years and that OCI has not “managed the company with a degree of care prudence and skill.”
Landvis wants to push the Sullivans out and bring in another partner with deep pockets, and is asking the court to order OCI to sell its limited partnership to Landvis.
The claim alleges that the Sullivan brothers have hurt the company with questionable fiscal management, while pumping millions in performance bonuses into their own pockets.
The brothers have yet to file a response to these allegations.
According to Landvis, financial instability has haunted OCI from Day 1, and the only solution to that instability is to wrest control away from the Sullivans.
At one point, the Sullivans offered to buy Landvis out for less than half of the $70-million it says it has invested into the company.
Claim lack merits, OCI says in statement to CBC News
OCI confirmed that Landvis has filed a claim with the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador against the well-known Newfoundland and Labrador-based seafood company and its associates.
OCI described Landvis as a “limited partner” in the company, and said there is no merit to the claim.
“We are very confident the claim and its allegations will be proven to lack any merit and will ultimately be dismissed,” OCI said in a statement to The Broadcast.
The statement went on to say that OCI officials are concerned and disappointed by the action of Landvis.
The OCI statement said Landvis’ attempt to take control of the company is “contrary to the best interests of OCI and this province.”
OCI plans to “vigorously defend” the statement of claim, and will “hold Landvis and its associates responsible for any damage resulting from its conduct.”
Attempts to contact legal representatives for Landvis were unsuccessful.
Provincial legislation states that a foreign company can only own up to 49 percent of OCI.
Meanwhile, the provincial government has been named as a defendant.
The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture provided the following statement:
“There is nothing in the claim alleging anything untoward on the part of the provincial government. The provincial government is only named because we are involved with the quotas for OCI. This is a dispute between the various partners and shareholders, and the province is not a shareholder in OCI.”
The statement adds that the province’s interests are protected through agreements already in place with OCI.
“The provincial government will act, as necessary, to ensure that these protections, specifically the landings requirements, remain in place.”
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