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RC | via PRNewswire | Cargill and Continental Grain Acquire Sanderson Farms | MINNEAPOLIS and NEW YORK — Cargill and Continental Grain Company made the announcement that their joint venture had successfully completed the acquisition of Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) that had been disclosed earlier. On August 9, 2021, the deal was made publically known.
Shareholders of Sanderson Farms will receive a cash payment of $203.00 for each and every share of the company’s common stock that they owned as of the moment when the deal was finalized. As a direct consequence of the successful completion of the deal, commencing on July 22, 2022, the shares of Sanderson Farms will no longer be traded on the NASDAQ.
As part of the process of bringing the transaction to a successful conclusion, Cargill and Continental Grain have completed the merger of Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms, a subsidiary of Continental Grain, to create a new chicken company that is privately held. Oakwood, Georgia will serve as the location of the headquarters for the new company, which will be known as Wayne-Sanderson Farms. Clint Rivers, who is now serving as the CEO of Wayne Farms, has been given the responsibility of leading the united firm, as was previously reported.
According to Mr. Rivers, “It is a privilege for me to serve as the leader of the new Wayne-Sanderson Farms, which brings together a skilled team with operations and cultures that are complementary to one another and a strong commitment to employees, farmers, and the communities in which we do business. The newly formed business is in an excellent position to continue providing clients and customers with items that are both of high quality and reasonable cost.”
Wayne-Sanderson Farms is a United States chicken firm that is considered to be the best in its class. The company possesses a high-quality asset base, a robust operating culture, and an industry-leading management team and staff. Wayne-Sanderson Farms has state-of-the-art operations and will continue to invest in its stakeholders, workforce, and employee safety. The company operates chicken processing plants and prepared foods plants in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas.
Joe F. Sanderson, Jr. remarked, “It has been an amazing honor for me to serve as the leader of the Sanderson Farms team for the past thirty-three years and to carry on the tradition of my family by contributing to the well-being of families all over the United States. I am pleased with all that we have accomplished together, and I am certain that the Sanderson Farms name will continue to be associated with the same levels of fairness, honesty, and integrity that have been demonstrated by Wayne-Sanderson Farms in the past.”
Cargill relied on the services of BofA Securities as its financial advisor, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (US) LLP served as the company’s legal counsel. In matters pertaining to taxes, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher served as counsel. Sanderson Farms relied on Centerview Partners LLC for financial advice, while Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Fishman Haygood LLP, and Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes, PLLC provided legal counsel. For Wayne Farms and Continental Grain, Lazard functioned in the capacity of a financial advisor, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served in the capacity of legal counsel. Cargill and Continental Grain were also represented by Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP and Jones Walker LLP. The former served as special antitrust counsel for the two companies, while the latter served as Mississippi counsel.
About Cargill
Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive. We combine 156 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture.
About Continental Grain Company
Continental Grain is a privately owned global investor, owner, and operator of companies with more than 200 years of history across the food and agribusiness spectrum. It creates long–term value by applying deep industry knowledge, capital and talent to businesses ranging from established market leaders to promising innovators, working alongside trusted partners, and supporting strong management teams. It brings a long–term ownership mindset, concentrating on investment and operating plans that create enduring value and a sustainable, efficient, and nutritional food supply chain. Continental Grain brings people, ideas, and resources together to build the businesses that will feed the world.
SOURCE Cargill, Inc.
Photo by Frances Gunn on Unsplash
