The Nasdaq stock exchange erroneously reported the delisting of Sanderson Farms on June 21, but has since removed the notice, stating that a deal for the purchase of the third largest poultry producer in the United States has not yet closed.
At one point during the day, Nasdaq reported that the pending transaction in which Cargill and Continental Grain Company would enter into a joint venture to acquire Sanderson Farms will close on June 23. However, a spokesperson for Sanderson Farms notified Seeking Alpha that Nasdaq published that notice in error.
The Nasdaq website now states: “The closing remains subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions; if and when met, a closing date for the merger will be announced.”
In August 2021, Continental Grain, Cargill and Sanderson Farms jointly announced the proposed transaction, in which Sanderson Farms would be purchased for $4.53 billion or $203 per share. It was also announced then that once the transaction was finalized, that Sanderson Farms would merge with Wayne Farms, the seventh largest poultry producer in the United States. The announcement also revealed that Clint Rivers, CEO of Wayne Farms, would be the CEO of the combined company.
That proposed deal has since received the approval of Sanderson Farms shareholders. Preliminary preliminary results of the vote, which was held in October 2021, showed that more than 86% of the outstanding shares, or more than 99% of the votes cast voted in favor of the transaction.
It was initially expected that the deal would close in late 2021 or early 2022, but the deal has since been subject to congressional skepticism and scrutiny from antitrust regulators.
Seeking Alpha reported that the price of Sanderson Farms shares dropped 2.4% following the erroneous report.
Sanderson Farms, according to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, was founded in 1947 as a small general feed and seed business and has since grown into a major poultry integrator. The company was incorporated in 1955 and became a publicly traded company in 1987. It trades under the ticker SAFM.
