Cargill and Continental Grain purchase Sanderson Farms, combine with Wayne Farms

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. & NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. (WDAM) - On Friday, the Cargill and Continental Grain Company announced the completion of the acquisition of Sanderson Farms, Inc., which was previously announced on Aug. 9, 2021, by a joint venture between Cargill and Continental Grain.

According to a press release, Sanderson Farms shareholders are receiving $203.00 per share of common stock they owned immediately prior to the completion of the transaction. As a result of the completion of the transaction, Sanderson Farms’ shares will no longer trade on the NASDAQ after July 22, 2022.

As a part of the closing of the transaction, Cargill and Continental Grain have combined Sanderson Farms with Wayne Farms, a branch company of Continental Grain, forming a new privately held poultry business.

The new business, which is named Wayne-Sanderson Farms, will be headquartered in Oakwood, Ga.

Clint Rivers, the current CEO of Wayne Farms, has been appointed CEO of the combined company.

“I am honored to lead the new Wayne-Sanderson Farms, which brings together a talented team with complementary operations and cultures and a strong commitment to employees, farmers and the communities where we operate,” said Rivers. “The new company is ideally positioned to continue to serve customers and consumers with high quality and affordable products.”

Operating chicken processing plants and prepared foods plants across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas, Wayne-Sanderson Farms will continue to invest in its stakeholders, workforce and in employee safety.

“It has been an incredible privilege to lead the Sanderson Farms team over the last thirty-three years and to continue my family’s legacy by helping to nourish families across the country,” said Joe F. Sanderson Jr. “I am proud of all we have achieved together and I am confident that the fairness, honesty and integrity that has been synonymous with the Sanderson Farms name will carry on with Wayne-Sanderson Farms.”

Click HERE to read the full press release.

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