StarKist tuna HQ moving back to Pittsburgh

South Korean conglomerate Dongwon Industries Co. Ltd. said today it completed a $359 million deal with Del Monte Food Co. to acquire its StarKist seafood business, with the brand's headquarters moving back to Pittsburgh.

Some 35 StarKist employees are now occupying about 18,000 square feet of space in the Del Monte building on the North Shore.

"We are projecting to have 100 employees over the next two years," said Melissa Murphy-Brown, a former Del Monte spokeswomen in Pittsburgh who is among the new StarKist personnel.

Murphy-Brown added the StarKist headquarters was relocated to San Francisco a few years ago, with a skeleton crew of operations and research and development personnel remaining here.

Dongwon also confirmed today that Donald J. Binotto, who was involved in tuna operations at Del Monte and at StarKist's previous owner, the H.J. Heinz Co., is StarKist's new president and CEO.

"We are very pleased to have successfully closed the transaction and to welcome the StarKist family to our portfolio of products," said Ingu Park, vice chairman of Dongwon Enterprise Co. Ltd, in a statement. "StarKist, a 65-year-old brand and top household name, represents a great opportunity for us to initiate operations in the United States."

Park, who is StarKist's board chairman, also said that the new owners plan to expand StarKist's product line over and above tuna, and to capitalize on StarKist's 37 percent tuna market share in the U.S.

The divestiture by Del Monte includes the sale of manufacturing facilities in American Samoa and Manta, Ecuador, and certain manufacturing assets in Terminal Island, Calif., and Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Del Monte and Dongwon also signed a two-year service agreement under which San Francisco-based Del Monte will provide such services as warehousing, distribution, transportation, sales, information technology and administration to the sold business.