Cargill is taking ownership of two animal feed mills from the Pennfield Corporation, after submitting the winning bid for $9.8 million in a bankruptcy proceeding. The Cargill bid was secured on January 17.
Under terms of the agreement, Cargill acquires the two Pennfield mills and their associated assets. Both mills are in Pennsylvania -- one in Mount Joy and the other in Martinsburg.
To facilitate the sale of its assets, Pennfield filed voluntary Chapter 11 Bankruptcy petitions in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in October 2012. Cargill's preliminary bid of $8.5 million was filed with the bankruptcy court on December 28, 2012. The judge then set a court date of January 17, to allow for a simultaneous live auction of other bids received during the interim time frame.
"We are thrilled to add Pennfield's state-of-the-art facilities and knowledgeable employees to the Cargill family," said Rob Sheffer, group director, for Cargill's Northeast region. "The deal not only expands our footprint in the region but it also provides us with additional capabilities and opportunities to serve new customer segments and enhance our offerings for existing customers in the region."
Jennifer Horn, former director of administration and family member of Pennfield, will join Cargill as administration team lead, where she will oversee Pennfield customer and employee communications.
A third Pennfield mill, in South Montrose, Penn., also was sold at the auction, but buyer names or terms of the purchase have yet to be announced.
The January bidding on the Pennfield facilities came after the collapse of an earlier deal to sell all three mills to Wellsource Nutrition. Wellsource, a start-up company, agreed to pay $15.6 million for the three mills. The deal was approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court, but Wellsource never paid, leading Pennfield to start a new buyer search.
