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DOJ says Tyson must sell Heinold

The U.S. Department of Justice says it will require Tyson Foods to divest Heinold Hog Markets, its sow purchasing business, in order to proceed with its $8.5 billion acquisition of Hillshire Brands Company.

Attorneys General from Illinois, Iowa and Missouri joined DOJ in a civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia to block the sale. At the same time, DOJ filed a proposed settlement that calls on Tyson to sell Heinold to a buyer approved by the antitrust division.

DOJ says without the required divestiture, the transaction would combine companies that account for more than a third of sow purchases from U.S. farmers, thereby likely reducing competition for purchases of sows from farmers.

The court needs to approve the settlement.

Tyson won a bidding war earlier this year with an offer of $63 per share or approximately $8.55 billion for Hillshire Farms.

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