Scrutiny of Hain Pure Protein divestiture sought

The Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry watchdog, has sent a formal request to antitrust regulators to heavily scrutinize the sale of organic poultry company Hain Pure Protein (HPP).

Roy Graber Headshot
LuMaxArt, Bigstock
LuMaxArt, Bigstock

The Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry watchdog, has sent a formal request to antitrust regulators to heavily scrutinize the sale of organic poultry company Hain Pure Protein (HPP).

HPP’s parent company, Hain Celestial, had earlier stated that it wanted to divest of its poultry segment, which involves both chicken and turkey production, and the company’s CEO, Irwin Simon, stated that he believed that HPP would be a better fit for a “larger strategic protein company.” Hain’s key brands are FreeBird (chicken) and Plainville Farms (turkey).

The Cornucopia Institute stated in a press release that “depending on who acquires it, the effect would be to harm competition in the already highly concentrated organic poultry sector.”

Hain Pure Protein has not identified any potential buyers, aside from saying potential bidders had shown a high level of interest. But the Cornucopia Institute has expressed concerns that Pilgrim’s Pride may have made a preliminary offer, citing a recent New York Post article.

In its press release, the Cornucopia Institute said it is concerned that Pilgrim’s Pride, which already has a strong presence in the organic poultry industry, and other larger companies active in organic poultry production such as Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms, “would easily be able to beat out any competition by controlling prices and squeezing more moderate-sized processors and marketers.”

Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride and Perdue Farms rank first, second and fourth, respectively among the Top Poultry Companies for broiler meat production. Tyson and Perdue also are ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, among turkey companies. HPP ranks 29th among broiler companies and tenth among turkey companies. The rankings do not directly reflect how much of those companies' production is devoted to organic poultry.

Similar concerns with Tyson-Tecumseh transaction

 Cornucopia Institute made the request for scrutiny of the HPP sale just weeks after it made a similar request for scrutiny of Tyson Foods’ acquisition of Tecumseh Poultry, also known as MBA Poultry.

That transaction was closed on June 3.

 

Page 1 of 1575
Next Page