Pilgrim's Pride Corp. on Friday said it has agreed to sell its poultry processing plant in northern Louisiana to Foster Farms for $80 million. Half that cost, though, will be paid by the state.
Pittsburg, Texas-based Pilgrim's Pride, which in December filed for reorganization under Chapter 11, said the deal is subject to approval of a federal bankruptcy court, antitrust review and the parties entering a purchase agreement.
Neither Pilgrim's Pride nor Livingston, Calif.-based Foster Farms discussed specifics. But the California company's Chief Executive Ron Foster, whose company currently has facilities in six states, said the agreement reached "represents a significant opportunity for the Farmerville community and for our family-owned poultry company."
The news was hailed in Louisiana, where state officials were so worried about the economic hit to the small town of Farmerville and to north Louisiana that they helped broker the sale.
Shuttering the plant would have cost about 1,300 jobs and also affected about 300 chicken farmers, according to the state agriculture department.
Farmerville Mayor Stein Baughman said word was spreading through his small rural town Friday afternoon.
"We are elated," Baughman said. " ... There would not have been a home in Union Parish that would have not been affected by this, and I'm not being cute. It would've trickled down and affected everyone. We would've seen a lot of our friends go bankrupt."
Terms of the deal call for Foster Farms and the state to each contribute $40 million, the state agriculture department said. It wasn't immediately clear if there would be a temporary shutdown or any reduction in the workforce. And depending on the source of the state share, legislative approval also may be needed.
Pilgrim's Pride last month cited a glut of chicken on the market and weakened consumer demand in announcing plans to idle the Farmerville plant and two others.
Gov. Bobby Jindal, who was also announcing that oilfield giant Schlumberger Ltd. would invest about $48 million in expanding a facility at Shreveport, called the Pilgrim's Pride announcement "a major victory" and "a true testament to what can be accomplished through a lot of hard work and dedication to helping a community in their time of need."
Walsworth gave Jindal credit for his role in the agreement, saying the plant's significance to the region can't be overstated: "We've really dodged a bullet."
source: yahoo
Pittsburg, Texas-based Pilgrim's Pride, which in December filed for reorganization under Chapter 11, said the deal is subject to approval of a federal bankruptcy court, antitrust review and the parties entering a purchase agreement.
Neither Pilgrim's Pride nor Livingston, Calif.-based Foster Farms discussed specifics. But the California company's Chief Executive Ron Foster, whose company currently has facilities in six states, said the agreement reached "represents a significant opportunity for the Farmerville community and for our family-owned poultry company."
The news was hailed in Louisiana, where state officials were so worried about the economic hit to the small town of Farmerville and to north Louisiana that they helped broker the sale.
Shuttering the plant would have cost about 1,300 jobs and also affected about 300 chicken farmers, according to the state agriculture department.
Farmerville Mayor Stein Baughman said word was spreading through his small rural town Friday afternoon.
"We are elated," Baughman said. " ... There would not have been a home in Union Parish that would have not been affected by this, and I'm not being cute. It would've trickled down and affected everyone. We would've seen a lot of our friends go bankrupt."
Terms of the deal call for Foster Farms and the state to each contribute $40 million, the state agriculture department said. It wasn't immediately clear if there would be a temporary shutdown or any reduction in the workforce. And depending on the source of the state share, legislative approval also may be needed.
Pilgrim's Pride last month cited a glut of chicken on the market and weakened consumer demand in announcing plans to idle the Farmerville plant and two others.
Gov. Bobby Jindal, who was also announcing that oilfield giant Schlumberger Ltd. would invest about $48 million in expanding a facility at Shreveport, called the Pilgrim's Pride announcement "a major victory" and "a true testament to what can be accomplished through a lot of hard work and dedication to helping a community in their time of need."
Walsworth gave Jindal credit for his role in the agreement, saying the plant's significance to the region can't be overstated: "We've really dodged a bullet."
source: yahoo
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