Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corp. has declined to comment on speculation it has joined the race for the takeover for US canned tuna giant Bumble Bee Foods.
According to Bloomberg, Mitsubishi, which owns food assets including Indiana Packers Corp. in the US and Princes in the UK, has reportedly submitted a bid for the acquisition of Bumble Bee.
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However, when approached by just-food today (14 October), a Mitsubishi spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, we are not able to comment on this.”
Bloomberg reported “about 12” consumer-product companies and private-equity firms had expressed interest before today’s deadline for first-round bids. Hormel Foods is believed to be among them. A spokesperson for Hormel told just-food the company “does not comment on acquisitions”. Bloomberg said it was unclear how many of the 12 had tabled offers.
In August, Bumble Bee, which is owned owned by private-equity firm Lion Capital, reportedly received “takeover overtures” from US food group Post Holdings and seafood giant Thai Union Frozen Products.
A sale of the business is expected to fetch US$1.5bn.
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By GlobalDataBumble Bee did not respond to requests for comment when approached by just-food today.
