Del Monte Foods kicked off efforts to pursue a sale as it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States on Tuesday under an agreement with certain key lenders, the company said in a statement.

The company was founded in 1886 and employs 2,780 people. Del Monte has four plants, two in the United States and two in Mexico.

Del Monte Foods, which is owned by Singapore’s Del Monte Pacific, was also hit with a lawsuit last year by a group of lenders that objected to the company’s debt restructuring plan. The case was settled in May with a loan that increased Del Monte’s interest expenses by $4m annually, according to a company statement.