San Diego-based Bumble Bee Foods filed for chapter 11 protection in Delaware yesterday and announced it has agreed to sell the company's assets to Taiwan-based FCF Co. Ltd. for $925 million, USA Today reported. The company said that it has "received new financing commitments from its existing lenders that will provide sufficient liquidity" to fund the business through the closing of the sale, which could happen within 60 to 90 days. The bankruptcy comes more than two years after the company pleaded guilty to conspiring to fix the cost of canned and pouch tuna. The company agreed to pay a $25 million criminal fine over five years as part of a plea agreement with the Department of Justice. According to court records, $17 million of the fine remains outstanding and the company is facing other legal expenses.
