Posted on 11/26/2019 1:44:46 AM PST by LibWhacker
Bumble Bee Foods—which along with StarKist and Chicken of the Sea is one of America's largest canned tuna brands—filed for bankruptcy on Thursday and plans to sell its business to the Taiwanese seafood company FCF Fishery. The sale should conclude what has been a wild ride for Bumble Bee since 2015 when a previous sale attempt revealed a massive price-fixing scheme across the entire U.S. tuna industry. But for consumers, store shelves should remain normal despite all the chaos behind the scenes.
Though the Department of Justice had long appeared concerned about price fixing in the canned tuna market, things took a major turn four years ago when Thai Union, owners of Chicken of the Sea, attempted to buyout Bumble Bee to propel its market share past industry leader StarKist, which is owned by South Korea's Dongwon Industries. Chicken of the Sea eventually flipped, working with the feds to avoid prosecution, and from there, Bumble Bee pled guilty in 2017 followed by StarKist a year later.
The writing was on the wall for Bumble Bee at that point: Already looking to sell, the company was now further saddled by a $25 million fine from the DOJ and a litany of additional civil lawsuits, not to mention that their now former-CEO was indicted in the scandal. It all resulting in "spending tens of millions of dollars in defense costs" on top of the fine, according to bankruptcy documents cited by CNN Business.
And yet, despite these moves, Bumble Bee as a brand will still be at your local grocer. "It's been a challenging time for our company but today's actions allow us to move forward with minimal disruption to our day-to-day operations," Bumble Bee president and CEO Jan Tharp was quoted as saying. "Employees will get paid, our customer partners can count on us to continue delivering outstanding brands and services, and vendors will be paid in the ordinary course of business."
If that sounds a bit fishy (pardon my pun), it helps to understand exactly who the bankruptcy filing will affect. According to Fast Company, the creditors with the largest unsecured debt claims are FCF—which will be acquiring the company—and the U.S. Department of Justice, which is still owed $17 million from the 2017 fine. The seafood industry site Undercurrent News reports that, as part of the buyout deal, FCF has agreed to make sure the government gets the rest of its money, theoretically putting an end to that drama. However, civil plaintiffs will reportedly be left out in the cold—which is clearly good for business but not good for non-government groups looking to get paid back for all that price-fixing.
"The initial proposal favors insiders, including FCF, which is a part-owner in Bumble Bee, the stalking horse bidder, and a creditor that is seeking preference for payment of its bills," Christopher Lebsock of Hausfeld, the law firm representing distributors in the civil lawsuits, told Undercurrent. "We intend to be active participants in the bankruptcy process.
Sorry, Charlie.
So all of big tuna will be foreign owned. Aren’t the Pelosi’s involved with one of these companies in American Samoa?
StarKist=Pelosi
It’s hard to be the first FReeper to point out the core hidden part of a story.
Ya beat me fair and square. Well played.
The Pelosi’s are stink fish owners no?
Who was the tuna company - Starkist? - that got busted several years back, when they were underfilling their cans, and a class action lawsuit was brought against them? I thought I saw something weird when I would open a can, and I noticed that there was a lot more broth in there than usual. I just dismissed it as my mind playing tricks, and drained it onto a plate for one of our cats. (She loves that spring water broth. It’s like mother’s milk to her.) Well, we signed on to the suit, the company was found guilty, and sure enough, we got coupons for ten free cans back in September. It took years, but we actually got them. I guess that once in a while, the squeaky wheel still does get the grease. LOL
Per Wiki
On October 18, 2018, StarKist agreed to plead guilty to a felony price fixing charge as part of a broad collusion investigation of the canned tuna industry by the United States Department of Justice.[10] On September 11, 2019, StarKist was fined $100 million, the maximum statutory fine.
In September 2019, the plaintiffs who had signed up for the class-action lawsuit that was “settled” in August 2015 were finally paid their share of the settlement. Plaintiffs who signed up for the $50 in tuna certificates received a coupon good for $5.03 provided they buy at least three Starkist products totaling more than that amount. Plaintiffs who signed up for the $25 cash received a PayPal payment of $2.38 representing their share of the settlement after the law firm’s costs had been deducted.
They’ve kept me from marketing my tuna idea, “Bacon of the Sea.” Now I just need an intern.
You’ll never make a better product than Weemsco tuna.
Whiny Little Bobby: Mom, the tuna doesn’t taste as good as it used to.
Narrator: Millions of Americans feel the same way little Bobby does, ever since companies came out with dolphin-free tuna.
Bobby: The tuna doesn’t taste as good as it used to.
Narrator: Luckily, not every company shamelessly bends over and drops their pants for each whiny special interest group that comes along and complains about something. When animal rights activists pressured Weemsco into eliminating the dolphin in our tuna, we politely said ‘pfft. Get a life!’ Weemsco Tuna has the great dolphin flavor you grew up with. In fact, it’s chock full of dolphin because now there’s more for us to use. Weemsco Tuna tastes great because it’s a secret blend of tuna, dolphin, shark, medical waste, and dead sea turtles who choked on deflated helium balloons.
Bobby: The tuna doesn’t taste as good as it used to.
Mother: But this is Weemsco Tuna, honey. Try it!
Bobby: Mmmmmm!
A side note. A girl that I went to High School with appeared in a Bumble Bee Tuna television commercial.
“Plaintiffs who signed up for the $25 cash received a PayPal payment of $2.38 representing their share of the settlement after the law firm’s costs had been deducted.”
That’s why I always ignore those notices in the mail. What is a stamp now? Probably takes it down to $1.65 and I have to walk in the rain to the mail box.
WAITRESS: Yeah, can I take your order?
GEORGE: (Gesturing to Jerry) Check the raiser.
JERRY: My bet? All right.. I’ll open with a tuna sandwich.
ELAINE: Tuna?
JERRY: Oh, the dolphin thing?
ELAINE: They’re dying in the nets.
JERRY: Ooohhh.. You know, the whole concept of lunch is based on tuna.
ELAINE: Jerry, can’t you incorporate one unselfish act in your daily routine?
JERRY: Hey, when I’m driving, I let people in ahead of me all the time. I’m always waving everybody in. “Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead.” ..Alright.. alright. I’ll have a chicken salad.
ELAINE: And I’m going to have an English muffin with margarine on the side and a cup of coffee.
WAITRESS: Okay. (To George) What about you?
GEORGE: I’ll have the tuna.
[Whiny Little Bobby: Mom, the tuna doesn’t taste as good as it used to.
Narrator: Millions of Americans feel the same way little Bobby does, ever since companies came out with dolphin-free tuna.
Bobby: The tuna doesn’t taste as good as it used to.
Narrator: Luckily, not every company shamelessly bends over and drops their pants for each whiny special interest group that comes along and complains about something. When animal rights activists pressured Weemsco into eliminating the dolphin in our tuna, we politely said ‘pfft. Get a life!’ Weemsco Tuna has the great dolphin flavor you grew up with. In fact, it’s chock full of dolphin because now there’s more for us to use. Weemsco Tuna tastes great because it’s a secret blend of tuna, dolphin, shark, medical waste, and dead sea turtles who choked on deflated helium balloons.
Bobby: The tuna doesn’t taste as good as it used to.
Mother: But this is Weemsco Tuna, honey. Try it!
Bobby: Mmmmmm!]
Price fixing should be damning for all 3 brands.
And this is the first I’m learning of it.
What with Nutzi Pelosi know about price fixing and when did she know it?
Class action lawsuits only ever pay the law firms involved. The public gets phony coupons.
Same with the Live Nation suit and the Big Music CD price fixing scam.
The thing to do these days is to opt OUT of any class action lawsuit since all they are doing is harvesting a number of ‘affected” plaintiffs so their own cut is larger.
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