Thai Union buys Bumble Bee from Lion Capital for $1.5b

The transaction includes approximately $760 million in debt, according to a regulatory filing. Lion Capital bought the business from Centre Partners for $980 million in late 2010. Bumble Bee generated sales of approximately $985 million for the year ended September 2014 and EBITDA of around $144 million. It had total assets of $1.1 billion.

Founded in 1899 and with a workforce of more than 1,300 people, Bumble Bee Foods is the leading manufacturer of canned seafood in North America, with a product line covering tuna, salmon and sardines. Its brands include Bumble Bee, Brunswick, Sweet Sue, Snow's, Beach Cliff and Wild Selection.

Thai Union said the acquisition would allow it to improve operating efficiencies in raw material sourcing and production, as well as advancing in innovation and new product development, particularly in North American markets. Bumble Bee owns two of the top three tuna brands in the US, after Starkist. Thai Union expects the addition of the Bumble Bee portfolio to increase group revenues by 25%.

"We are proud to have played a significant role in the evolution of Bumble Bee Seafoods over the last four years and would like to thank our partners, Chris [Lischewski, president and CEO] and the management team, for helping us achieve such a successful return on our investment. We are particularly pleased to have found a strategic home for Bumble Bee Seafoods with the proven expertise of Thai Union," Lyndon Lea, a partner at Lion Capital, said in a statement.

Founded in 1988, Thai Union's brands include Chicken of the Sea, John West, King Oscar, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, and Century, as well as domestic lines such as Sealect, Fisho and Bellotta. It employs 35,000 people globally.

The company posted revenue of THB114.3 billion ($3.5 billion) in 2013, up from THB107.7 billion the previous year. Net income fell from THB4.69 billion to THB2.85 billion over the same period. Tuna accounts for nearly half of total sales, with sardines and mackerel following on 25%. Thai Union sold 41% of its products in the US in 2013 and 30% in Japan. No other market contributes more than 7%.

The sale, which still requires regulatory approval in the US, is expected to close in the first half of 2015. UBS advised Thai Union on the deal, while Morgan Stanley and Rothschild worked with Bumble Bee.

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• Topics
• Exits
• North America
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Consumer
• Southeast Asia
• Exit
• Trade sale
• Thailand
• USA
• Lion Capital