Pilgrim’s Pride makes $1 billion acquisition of overseas company

GREELEY — Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (Nasdaq: PPC) has acquired poultry and food supplier Moy Park, which has operations in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Pilgrim’s acquired the company from JBS S.A. for about $1 billion. The enterprise value is expected to be about $1.3 billion.

The deal was approved unanimously by a special committee of Pilgrim’s board of directors.

The acquisition of Moy was a logical one for Pilgrim’s, said CEO Bill Lovette, as the company plans to expand its geographical footprint across the pond to UK and European markets.

“We will have new business opportunities through the addition of Moy Park’s fully integrated poultry production platform and its strong presence in prepared foods,” Lovette said in a prepared statement. “Moy Park strengthens Pilgrim’s’ leading portfolio of brands and brings strong value-added innovation capabilities, access to new markets, a best-in-class production platform and strong farmer partner relationships. In addition, Moy Park shares Pilgrim’s long-standing commitment to become the best and most respected company in our industry.”

Moy Park team members and leadership will be joining Pilgrim’s. Moy Park CEO Janet McCollum will stay on to lead the business in its headquarters in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. Moy Park will operate as a business unit within Pilgrim’s.

The deal is funded through a combination of Pilgrim’s cash on hand, existing credit facilities and a subordinated seller financing note issued by a wholly-owned subsidiary to JBS S.A., which Pilgrim’s intends to replace with permanent financing.

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