High Liner Foods announces Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders

- Company proposes temporary retraction privileges for non-voting equity shares -

LUNENBURG, NS, Jan. 25 /CNW/ - High Liner Foods Incorporated (TSX: HLF; HLF.A), today announced that it has selected April 6, 2010 as the date for its 2010 Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders. At the meeting, shareholders will be asked to consider a special resolution to amend the terms and conditions of High Liner's non-voting equity shares to provide for a right of retraction for a limited period of time. Under this proposed retraction right, each holder of High Liner's non-voting equity shares may elect to have High Liner repurchase that holder's non-voting equity shares for a retraction price of $8 per share.

"High Liner has delivered strong financial results since our acquisition of FPI in late 2007," said Henry Demone President and Chief Executive Officer. "Having already increased our quarterly dividend on four occasions since the acquisition, the board of directors considers the proposed retraction rights to be the best use of High Liner's strong cash flow to maximize shareholder value at this time. In addition, the retraction rights would provide holders of the non-voting equity shares with an opportunity for liquidity, without any obligation on the part of the holders to participate."

"The proposed retraction privileges reflect the strength of High Liner's operations and our board's confidence in the future financial performance of our business," added Mr. Demone .

A special resolution will also be proposed to amend the conditions attaching to the common shares of High Liner to permit each common share to be converted into a non-voting equity share at any time at the option of the holder after the expiry of the non-voting equity share retraction right.

FP Resources Limited, which holds 2,550,000 common shares and 2,550,000 non-voting equity shares, has agreed with High Liner that it will vote all of its shares in favour of the special resolutions and exercise its retraction rights for all of its non-voting equity shares.

The changes to High Liner's share conditions remain subject to regulatory approval in addition to shareholder approval.

About High Liner Foods Incorporated

High Liner Foods Incorporated is a leading North American processor and marketer of prepared, value-added frozen seafood. High Liner's branded products are sold throughout the United States , Canada and Mexico under the High Liner(R), Fisher Boy(R), Mirabel(R) and Sea Cuisine(TM) labels, and are available in most grocery and club stores. The Company also sells its High Liner(R), FPI(R) and Mirabel(R) food service products to restaurants and institutions, and is a major supplier of private label seafood products to North American food retailers and food service distributors. High Liner Foods is a publicly traded Canadian company, trading under the symbols HLF and HLF.A on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including among others, statements regarding proposed amendments to the terms and conditions of High Liner's non-voting equity shares and its common shares. These statements contain words such as "proposed", "consider", "anticipate", "expect", "would", "should", "may", "plans", "will", or similar expressions that are based on and arise out of our experience, our perception of trends, current conditions and expected future developments as well as other factors. There is no guarantee that the proposed amendments will be approved by the shareholders of the Company, nor is there any guarantee associated with future stock performance if the proposed amendments are approved. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve uncertainties and risks that proposals will not be approved and that forecasts and targets will not be achieved.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as a number of important factors, as discussed herein and in our other continuous disclosure documents, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. We include in publicly available documents filed from time to time with securities commissions and The Toronto Stock Exchange, a thorough discussion of the risk factors that can cause anticipated outcomes to differ from actual outcomes. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.

For further information about the Company, please visit our Internet site at www.highlinerfoods.com or send an e-mail to [email protected].

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For further information: Kelly Nelson, Vice President Corporate Services & Chief Financial Officer, High Liner Foods Incorporated, Tel: [phone], [email protected]; Trevor Heisler, Investor Relations, The Equicom Group Inc., Tel: [phone] ext.270, [email protected]