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The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'

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Trump pulls back after Iran crosses his red line as U.S. military breaks two-week streak of airstrikes amid talks for potential Hormuz deal

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'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
Retail

Justice Department Concerns Sink Giant Tuna Merger

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Claire Groden
Claire Groden
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By
Claire Groden
Claire Groden
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December 4, 2015, 3:14 PM ET
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Bumblebees chunk light tuna can foodfoodPhotograph by Geri Lavrov—Moment Editorial/Getty Images
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This story has been updated to include a statement from Bumble Bee Foods.

Bumble Bee Foods and Thai Union Group, which owns Chicken of the Sea, have given up on their plans for a merger after the Department of Justice raised concerns.

A finalized deal would have combined the second- and third-largest sellers of canned tuna in the U.S. “Consumers are better off without this deal,” assistant attorney general Bill Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in a press release Friday. “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.”

Currently, there are only three major shelf-stabilized tuna sellers in the U.S.—Bumble Bee, Thai Union Group, and Starkist. In August, Olean Wholesale Grocery Cooperative filed a class action lawsuit against the three companies, alleging they had collaborated on a price-fixing scheme.

In a statement released Friday, CEO and president of Thai Union Thiraphong Chansiri said, “We have put a lot of efforts to get this deal approved. However, we also recognize that the clearance is now unlikely due to a higher level of complexity in the process.”

In a statement to Fortune, Bumble Bee CEO Chris Lischewski said that he was aware of the terminated acquisition. “During the past year, Bumble Bee has conducted business as usual and now has a renewed focus to execute its vision for the company well into the future.”

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