StarKist tuna products. Image credit: StarKist Facebook page

South Korea’s Dongwon Group is reportedly mulling an IPO for its US seafood arm StarKist Co.

Dongwon Industries, the group’s seafood subsidiary, is seeking to raise funds to finance the acquisition of South Korean shipping company HMM, with a public share offering of StarKist one of three IPO options being considered, according to the local publication Pulse News.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

The shipping deal is expected to cost around won 5trln ($3.7bn), Pulse News reported, citing unnamed sources as saying Dongwon Industries may first explore the IPO landscape and seek to attract investment funds before any potential listing, including ‘liquidating family owners’ stakes in several companies’.

Just Food has approached Virginia-based StarKist for comment on the IPO speculation. As well as canned tuna, the company supplies single-serve pouches such as the StarKist Creations brand. A new president and CEO was recently appointed, with Chae-Ung Um taking up those roles at the start of 2023.

Pulse News suggested the other IPOs being considered may include the logistics company Dongwon LOEX and Dongwon Home Food, a subsidiary of Dongwon F&B. Dongwon Home Food supplies a range of sauces, dressings, spices and meats to the foodservice channel and B2B customers.

Dongwon Group acquired StarKist in 2008 from Del Monte Foods for $363m at the time, creating one of the world’s largest canned tuna businesses.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

StarKist was implicated in a price-fixing scandal in 2017 and later pleaded guilty to the charges. Stephen Hodge, a former senior vice president of sales, put in a guilty plea the same year, with StarKist following suit in 2018.

Allegations tuna suppliers in the US had fixed prices first emerged in 2015. Another canned tuna supplier, Bumble Bee Foods, agreed to plead guilty to one count of fixing prices and to pay a fine, while two Bumble Bee executives also agreed to issue guilty pleas.

In September 2017, seafood giant Thai Union Group confirmed it was the whistleblower in the US price-fixing investigation.