Canadian seafood giant Cooke Aquaculture is in the final stages of acquiring Latin American shrimp producer Seajoy, with a further announcement due by Christmas, reports The Telegraph-Journal.

Speaking at a round-table meeting with Cooke group executives from around the world, CEO Glenn Cooke said the company is in the final stages of acquiring "one of the largest" Latin American shrimp farming companies.

"We are in the process of getting everything approved," said Cooke, "but we have basically bought one of the world's largest shrimp operations."

The deal will include processing plants, hatcheries and breeding programs.

The company produces value-added and organic Pacific white shrimp and sells to customers in Europe, the Americas and Asia, according to Cooke.

Cooke said the new company will fall under Cooke Aquaculture's Chile division.

Currently, the company has operations in the US, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Scotland, Japan, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina and Atlantic Canada.

Cooke said the future of the company is focused on adding value to their products by offering more species and by getting closer to their customers to better ensure the quality of their products.

"We want to be able to control our product from production," said Cooke.

Right now, Cooke said the company produces around 1 billion pounds (454 million kilograms) of farmed and wild seafood per year.

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Cooke in 'final stages' of Latin American shrimp group acquisition