N.S. judge approves asset transfer for debt-laden company owned by seafood tycoon

HALIFAX – A Nova Scotia court has approved the sale of most of the assets owned by seafood tycoon John Risley’s insolvent holding company to a New York-based firm.

Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice John Keith approved the asset transfer Friday, allowing debt-laden CFFI Ventures Inc. to hand most of its holdings to New Tide Capital LP, an independent investment advisory firm.

CFFI Ventures was placed under creditor protection in March after it collapsed under nearly US$1 billion in debt.

New Tide is an affiliate of New York-based alternative investment firm HPS Investment Partners, LLC, which held the majority of CFFI’s debt.

With the transfer, New Tide will assume US$1.12 billion of CFFI’s liabilities. The court-appointed monitor overseeing the transaction, FTI Consulting Canada Inc., has said New Tide will also receive equity interest, most of CFFI’s cash and a collection of artworks.

Court documents show that accounting firm Ernst and Young had pegged the fair market value of CFFI’s assets at $367 million.

In a text message to The Canadian Press on Thursday, Risley called the transfer process “unnecessary,” adding that he thought it was the result of the Canada Revenue Agency being “overly aggressive.”

Known for his high-stakes approach to investing, Risley is one of the best-known businessmen in Atlantic Canada. He co-founded Clearwater Seafoods in 1976, which was sold in 2021 for $1 billion.

He was behind Nova Scotia-based fish oil supplement company Ocean Nutrition, which sold for $540 million in 2012, and he co-founded the Caribbean communications company Columbus International, which sold for US$1.85 billion in 2014.

Court documents show the debt owed to HPS Investment began as a US$250-million loan in 2017. But that liability grew to nearly US$1 billion after interest rates rose as high as 28 per cent when Risley’s CFFI Ventures stopped making payments.

CFFI had been selling millions of dollars’ worth of artworks, private planes and other assets to reduce its debt, but it still owed HPS about US$776 million when a restructuring process began in February.

Lawyer Maria Konyukhova, representative for the court-appointed monitor, told the court Thursday that approving the credit bid from New Tide would be in the best interest of CFFI’s creditors.

“There is no other scenario where they would be better off, where they would see value coming out to them,” Konyukhova said.

The final agreement will see New Tide take control of CFFI’s equity interests in several companies including supplements firm Mara Renewables Corp., offshore vessel and logistics company Horizon Maritime Services Ltd. and skin care outfit Skinfix Inc.

Meanwhile, New Tide will also take control of CFFI’s 1,281-piece art collection. It includes works from well-known Canadian artists Maud Lewis, Christopher Pratt and Group of Seven members A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer and J.E.H. MacDonald.

The judge said Friday the estimated value of the collection has decreased over time. An estimate from December 2025 valued CFFI’s artwork, antiques and collectibles at approximately $8.1 million, down from a previous report valuing it at nearly $27 million, he said.

During an earlier court hearing on Thursday, the court monitor said Risley had claimed ownership of 669 artworks because they were not purchased through CFFI. Risley said he bought some of them before CFFI existed and other pieces were purchased by different companies.

A lawyer representing New Tide told the court that the company would negotiate an out-of-court deal with Risley regarding ownership of the artworks.

In his oral decision Friday, Keith said that although the value of the artworks is small compared with CFFI’s debt, he was concerned about the integrity of the process, should a deal be negotiated outside of court.

He also noted that the value of the 669 pieces that Risley claims he purchased is unknown.

In his decision, Keith included a provision that requires New Tide to inform the court of any agreement it makes with Risley regarding the 669 artworks.

If a deal can’t be reached, a representative for New Tide said the company will return to court to settle the matter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2026.

— With files from Devin Stevens.