Thai Union acquires Bumble Bee for $1.5 billion 

News Summary: December 19, 2014 : In a major consolidation move that will give Thai Union 38% of the US canned tuna market, Thai Union and Bumble Bee Seafoods announced that TUF will acquire 100% of the shares of Bumble Bee. This means Lions Capital will exit the business. "I have always believed that Bumble Bee and Thai Union share a strong vision for innovation, operational excellence, sustainability and value for our consumers, making this combination good news for customers, consumers and the industry as a whole," said Chris Lischewski, President and CEO of Bumble Bee Seafoods. 

The purchase, expected to close in the 2nd half of 2015, will push Thai Union revenues over $5 billion. 

Illex squid has rebounded in the South Atlantic, with the recent Falklands season setting a new catch record of over 300,000 tons. 

Shrimp importers could be blindsided if a new anti-dumping bill, introduced to help the steel industry, actually becomes law. It would overturn a number of recent Dept. of Commerce decisions that have gone against domestic shrimp producers. If it passes, new shrimp anti-dumping or CVD cases would be likely. 

India has just concluded a major conference on tilapia production, and MPEDA believes the country could become a major producer and exporter. One hurdle is that local consumption patterns of fish are quite different in India and China, making Indian development far more dependent on an export market, since domestic consumption is not well established. 

Silver Bay Seafoods got approval from a Sitka Industrial park for a purchase of two parcels related to their planned expansion, but the Board withheld approval on parcels where both Silver Bay and Alaska and Pacific Packing are competing. APP needs access to a dock and waterfront which Silver Bay wants to use as well, and the town wants to maintain a public access as well. 

Japan is facing a french fry crisis. McDonald’s, unable to export sufficient potatoes due to the slowdown on West Coast ports, is rationing french fries, by limiting customers to only the small size purchases. McDonald’s air freighted over 1000 tons of potatoes, and is now shipping from the East Coast, but that is not enough to resolve the shortage. The Gov’t of Japan has complained to US authorities, as other West Coast exports like hay and christmas trees have been held up, creating shortages. 

Next week is the start of the Christmas Holiday, and we will publish for the first three days of the week only. We will also publish on a light schedule during the week after Christmas. We wish all our readers a happy and prosperous holiday season, and a joyful new year. 

Have a good weekend. 

John Sackton, Editor And Publisher

SeafoodNews.com 1-781-861-1441

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