Bumble Bee And Chicken Of The Sea Plan Merger Into Giant Can Of Tuna

Great news if you can’t tell the difference Chicken of the Sea and Bumble Bee, two of the major tuna brands that you’re likely to see on the shelf at your local grocery store. Pending regulator approval, the two brands will combine into one as the owner of Chicken of the Sea, Thai Union Frozen Products PCL, recently announced that it plans to acquire Bumble Bee

The companies’ leaders have the completely unbiased belief that Americans ought to be eating more tuna. “It’s a great low-cost protein that needs to be dusted off and reinvented for consumers,” the president of Chicken of the Sea told the Wall Street Journal.

Regulators a the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission would need to approve the merger, which would probably happen in the second half of 2015. What’s interesting is the reason why the companies want to get together: to push tuna to Americans, and maybe to work together to find new and exciting ways to package canned tuna, as European brands owned by Thai Union Frozen Products have done in recent years.

The most popular tuna brand is Starkist, with about 36% of the market. Together, Chicken of the Sea and Bumble Bee are about 38% of tuna sales: 25% belonging to the chicken, and 13% to the bee.

Tuna Brands Could Merge After Thai Union Deal [Wall Street Journal]

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