Bumble Bee Foods is preparing a sale process that could value North America's largest producer and marketer of canned tuna and sardines at as much as USD 1.5 billion (EUR 1.1 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.
The company's owner, private equity firm Lion Capital LLP, is planning meetings with investment banks in the coming weeks to appoint financial advisors who will run an auction for Bumble Bee, the people said this week.
Bumble Bee has annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of around USD 130 million (EUR 95.2 million) and is expected to attract interest from other food companies in the United States and Asia, some of the people added.
