Tyson Foods’ planned acquisition of Keystone Foods from Marfrig Global Foods has cleared one more hurdle, as Japan’s antitrust authority has given the potential transaction its approval.
The approval was posted in a notice to the market on the Marfrig Global Foods website on October 22.
Marfrig had earlier announced that the pending acquisition had been given approval by the U.S. antitrust authority and by Brazil’s BNDESPAR.
Marfrig is headquartered in Brazil, while its subsidiary Keystone Foods, as well as Tyson Foods, are headquartered in the United States. However, because of the international presence of Keystone Foods, approval must be given by other antitrust agencies. Marfrig stated on its most recent notice to the market that the only remaining approvals needed are from antitrust authorities in China and South Korea.
In August, Tyson Foods announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase Keystone Foods, the tenth largest broiler company in the United States, from Marfrig Global Foods, for $2.16 billion in cash. Under the agreement, Tyson would acquire six Keystone Foods processing plants and an innovation center in the United States, as well as eight plants and three innovation centers in China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. The U.S. facilities are located in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
At the time the pending acquisition was announced, Tyson Foods stated that it expected the deal to close in the middle of fiscal year 2019. Tyson’s fiscal years typically end on the Saturday closest to September 30, according to the company website.
Marfrig Global Foods announced in April its decision to divest of Keystone Foods to leverage its acquisition of the U.S. business, National Beef Packing Company, and also to allow the company to more fully concentrate on its beef operations. The National Beef transaction closed on June 6.
