Tokyo, Japan-headquartered Mitsubishi Corporation has withdrawn its bid to increase its current 6.19 percent share of Bangkok, Thailand-headquartered Thai Union to 20 percent.
The THB 12.50 (USD 0.39, EUR 0.33) per share offer contained an automatic cancellation clause, which Thai Union called an “All-or-Nothing Structure” in its first announcement of the offer, stating that the offer would be withdrawn unless shareholder acceptance by the end of the offer period amounted to more than 532 million shares of the company, 11.95 percent of shares including Thai Union treasury shares, or 13.81 percent excluding treasury shares.
Mitsubishi first acquired a stake in Thai Union in 1991, but this August, Thai Union announced to shareholders that it had received a general offer from Mitsubishi to increase its holdings in the company to a total of 20 percent.
"Mitsubishi Corporation has expressed its intention to make an additional investment in the Company and to enter into a business partnership to strengthen growth and business collaboration,” Thai Union said at the time.
At the time of the general offering, Mitsubishi noted that it was particularly driven to make the offer by the increasing global demand for tuna, especially in pet food.
“Among the various seafood products, tuna stands out for its widespread appeal across both developed and emerging markets,” Mitsubishi said. “Global demand for seafood continues to rise, driven by population growth and shifting consumer preferences in line with economic development."
Mitsubishi added that the more involved relationship would allow both companies to draw on each others’ “respective strengths in procurement, processing, and sales while enhancing global synergies and ensuring a stable supply of high-quality products that meet consumer needs.”
With the offer now withdrawn, shareholders who had agreed to sell will have their shares refunded to them, the company said, and Mitsubishi’s holdings will remain at 6.19 percent, excluding treasury shares owned by Thai Union.
Mitsubishi has not issued a public comment on the withdrawn offer.
The Japanese firm has been expanding steadily into seafood in recent years.
In 2014, the company bought Norway-based salmon-farming firm Cermaq, with then-CEO Ken Kobayashi saying that “Mitsubishi Corporation's strategy is to develop our business through investing in businesses with growth potential.”
The company had identified salmon farming, he said, as one such business, which was responding to growing demand for healthy protein, especially in Asia.
In 2022, the company joined with Maruha Nichiro to create a joint venture called Atland, a land-based RAS salmon farm in Japan’s Toyama Prefecture with the goal of producing for local markets.
In July 2025, Mitsubishi-owned Cermaq announced that it was acquiring Grieg’s Canadian operations, as well as its Finnmark, Norway-based site, for NOK 10.2 billion (USD 1.08 billion, EUR 923 million).
The company also owns Japan-based wholesaler Toyo Reizo and, until relatively recently, U.K.-based tuna company Princes Group.
