Bumble Bee Seafoods LLC has attracted bids from companies including Mitsubishi Corp. and Post Holdings Inc. as its private-equity owner begins an auction of the tuna brand, people familiar with the matter said.
Lion Capital LLP, which acquired Bumble Bee from Centre Partners Management LLC in 2010 for $980 million, is seeking more than $1.5 billion for the business, said the people, who asked not to be named because discussions are private. About 12 consumer-products companies and private-equity firms expressed interest before today’s deadline for first-round bids, the people said, though it isn’t clear how many entered bids.
Thai Union Frozen Products Pcl, which owns competitor Chicken of the Sea, has submitted a bid, the people said. Hormel Foods Corp. has also expressed interest in Bumble Bee and could end up bidding for the company, one of the people said. Bumble Bee, founded in 1899, is generating interest because food producers are trying to offer more protein options, said Kenneth Shea, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. “Protein is hot,” Shea said in a phone interview. “The scarcity of good brands could put Bumble Bee in demand.”
Last year, Hormel stepped outside its traditional meat business when it acquired Skippy peanut butter from Unilever NV for $700 million. In June, Post Holdings made its protein play by purchasing egg producer Michael Foods for $2.45 billion.
Spokesmen for Lion Capital and Post didn’t return calls seeking comment, while a representative for Hormel declined to comment. Representatives for Mitsubishi and Thai Union declined to comment or didn’t respond to questions. A spokeswoman for Bumble Bee said the company had no comment.
Bumble Bee may be a tougher sell to food producers who don’t already have fishing and canning operations because the process is capital intensive, Shea said. Tuna fishing is also closely regulated, potentially warding off bidders who aren’t already in the business, he said.
Japan’s Mitsubishi is among the world’s largest tuna producers.
Bloomberg News, edited by ESM
