Canned salmon and tuna giant to sell assets to Taiwan company FCF Co for USD 925 million.
San Diego-based Bumble Bee Foods – which has been embroiled in price-fixing lawsuit – has filed for bankruptcy, the company posted in a press release.
Bumble Bee Foods announced it has agreed to sell the company’s assets to Taiwan-based FCF Co for USD 925 million.
The company sells canned and pouched tuna, salmon, sardines, and specialty seafood products under the brands Bumble Bee, Brunswick, Snow’s, Wild Selections and Beach Cliff.
“It’s been a challenging time for our company but today’s actions allow us to move forward with minimal disruption to our day-to-day operations,” said Bumble Bee president and CEO Jan Tharp.
“We have an experienced leadership team in place and plan to transform our business in bold and innovative ways that will build a legacy worthy of our proud 120-year-old history.”
The company said it has “received new financing commitments from its existing lenders that will provide sufficient liquidity” to fund the business through the closing of the sale, which could happen within 60 to 90 days.
The bankruptcy comes more than two years after the company plead guilty to conspiring to fix the cost of canned and pouch tuna in 2017.
Last year, former CEO Christopher Lischewski stepped down from his role in 2015 following an indictment brought by the U.S. Department of Justice in regard to his alleged part in a price-fixing conspiracy. He’s currently in the third week on trial for a single charge of engaging in a conspiracy to fix the prices of canned tuna in the United States from 2011 to 2013.
