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Huron Capital Forms Seafood Platform With Two Acquisitions

DETROIT, MI, August 24, 2017 – Huron Capital today announced it has made equity investments in Aquamar, Inc. (“Aquamar”) and LM Foods, LLC (“LM Foods”) to form a new platform, Aquamar Holdings, in the surimi seafood market, producing and selling crab flavored seafood to food service, food manufacturing, and retail channels primarily in North America.

Based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Aquamar was co-founded in 1991 by company president, Hugo Yamakawa,  vice president of operations, Taka Iwasaki, and a former partner. Aquamar produces both frozen and refrigerated products, most of which are sold under the Aquamar brand name. The company is one of the leading manufacturers of shred style surimi in North America, selling to restaurant/foodservice customers and major retailers. Hugo and Taka will remain as influential leaders in the business and additionally serve on the board of directors of the new platform.

LM Foods was founded in the early 1990s and is based in Carteret, NJ. LM Foods primarily produces frozen, private label surimi seafood, offering premium, select and value products to its customers and selling premium products under the Classic Bay brand name. LM Foods CEO Mark Olivito will lead the new platform and serve on its board of directors. Messrs. Iwasaki, Olivito and Yamakawa will be significant shareholders in the new platform in partnership with Huron Capital.

“We are excited to partner with Huron Capital and bring together this platform,” said Olivito. “Aquamar and LM Foods have complementary capabilities that we think will fit together nicely and serve as a growth platform moving forward. We believe having manufacturing facilities on both U.S. coasts will enable us to serve our customers better and continue to expand the combined business.”

Mike Beauregard, Senior Partner at Huron Capital, added, “Our firm has a history of investing in food and beverage markets. Seafood consumption in North America has been rising for several years and we think the surimi seafood market is a stable and attractive sector. We look forward to working with Hugo, Mark, Taka, and the rest of the team as we build on this exciting new platform.”

Certain information herein may contain forward-looking statements which are provided to assist the reader in understanding the beliefs and opinions with respect to future opportunities as perceived by Huron Capital and others quoted herein. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance in future periods to differ materially from any projections or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The issuer of these statements undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or estimates or opinions should change except as may be required by applicable securities laws.