Pilgrim's Pride To Acquire GNP Company For $350 Mln - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Pilgrim's Pride Corp. (PPC) announced an agreement to acquire GNP Company, a provider of premium branded chicken products in the Upper Midwest, for $350 million in cash. The company said the addition of the GNP Company's portfolio of Just BARE Certified Organic and Natural/American Humane CertifiedTM/No-Antibiotics-Ever product lines to Pilgrim's existing NAE and organic production capabilities, further positions Pilgrim's as a leading provider of high quality products in the fastest growing chicken segments.

Pilgrim's expects the acquisition will be accretive to the company's earnings per share in 2017, and achieve approximately $20 million in annualized synergies, primarily from the optimization of production and distribution, and cost savings in purchasing, production, logistics and SG&A. The proposed transaction is anticipated to close during the first quarter of 2017.

GNP Company has production facilities in Cold Spring and Luverne, Minn., and Arcadia, Wis., with approximately 400 family farm partners and more than 1,700 team members. GNP Company's products are distributed in nearly all 50 states.