Bumble Bee Foods files for bankruptcy

Bum­ble Bee Foods, the canned seafood brand, filed for bank­ruptcy protection — crushed by the weight of legal expenses “stem­ming from its in­volve­ment in a con­spir­acy to fix prices on canned tuna,” as the Wall Street Journal reports.

The state of play: It also plans to sell its assets to Taiwan-based FCF Fishery Co. for $925 million.

• Bumble Bee's current owner, private equity firm Lion Capital, bought the company for $980 million in 2010.

The bottom line: Bumble Bee’s sales took a hit as consumer appetite for canned tuna waned. But ultimately its scheme with competing brands to keep prices of canned tuna artificially high — which drew a hefty criminal fine and customer lawsuits — pushed the company into bankruptcy.