Thai Union Group's termination of  its planned acquisition of Bumble Bee Seafoods ends a year-long process of delays waiting for approval from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to clear the deal.

The DOJ said this deal would have combined the second- and third-largest sellers of shelf-stable tuna in the United States in a market already dominated by three major brands.

“Consumers are better off without this deal,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the department’s Antitrust Division.  “Our investigation convinced us – and the parties knew or should have known from the get go – that the market is not functioning competitively today, and further consolidation would only make things worse.”

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