Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: Chicken of the Sea, Bumble Bee terminate $1.51B deal, (Dec 4, 2015)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

Thai Union Group P.C.L.—the owner of Tri-Union Seafoods LLC, doing business as Chicken of the Sea International—and Lion Capital LLP have mutually agreed to terminate plans to acquire Bumble Bee Foods, LLC. The deal would purportedly have combined the second and third largest sellers of shelf-stable tuna in the United States.

Thai Union, a Thai corporation, is the largest global producer of shelf-stable tuna and offers other shelf-stable and frozen seafood products. Similarly, American company Lion Capital owns Bumble Bee, which also sells shelf-stable seafood products under a number of brand names, including “Bumble Bee,” “Wild Selections,” “Beach Cliff,” “Brunswick,” and “Snow’s.”

The two companies announced the $1.51 billion deal in December 2014. However, after the Justice Department cited concerns the deal would harm competition, Thai Union and Lion decided to terminate the proposed acquisition.

“Consumers are better off without this deal,” stated Assistant Attorney General William Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Our investigation convinced us—and the parties knew or should have known from the get go—that the market is not functioning competitively today, and further consolidation would only make things worse.”

“We have put a lot of efforts to get this deal approved. However, we also recognize that the clearance is now unlikely due to a higher level of complexity in the process,” commented President and CEO of Thai Union, Thiraphong Chansiri. “We have decided to focus our energy on our existing business. Thai Union remains committed to the North American seafood market.”

Companies: The Union Group P.C.L.; Tri-Union Seafoods LLC; Bumble Bee Foods LLC; Lion Capital LLP

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