U.S. turkey producer and distributor Plainville Farms secured a $12 million term loan, with the company calling the shot of capital as critical to its “short- and long-term growth strategy.”
The loan was issued by Gordon Brothers, a global advisory, restructuring and investment firm.
In a press release, the Gordon Brothers stated that the loan will be used to support the increased customer demand for Plainville Farms’ organic and antibiotic-free turkey products.
Deepak Ramanthan, who oversees Plainville Farms’ financing activities, made this comment in the press release: “With Gordon Brothers’ support, Plainville Farms can ramp up operations with confidence as we enter the busiest time of year. This funding is critical to our short- and long-term growth strategy.”
“Thanks to proactive leadership in response to inflationary risks and increased demand, Plainville Farms has demonstrated tremendous resiliency in continuing to serve its customers,” said Kyle C. Shonak, Head of Lending, North America, at Gordon Brothers. “We were happy to provide responsive capital to support future operations and continued growth.”
Plainville Farms, headquartered in New Oxford, Pennsylvania, was formerly part of Hain Celestial’s Hain Pure Protein subsidiary. Hain Celestial in 2019 sold the Plainville Farms assets to Plainville Brands LLC, a Delaware limited liability company that was formed by a group of private investors.
Since that time, Plainville Farms and retailers that sell its products have been under criticism for the alleged mistreatment of turkeys, following the 2021 release of an undercover video circulated by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The video depicted scenes of turkeys being thrown, kicked and picked up by their necks. Plainville Farms promised to conduct an investigation into the matter, and that it would hold any employees involved accountable.
Plainville Farms, according to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, slaughtered 90 million pounds of live turkeys in 2021, a 36.17% decrease from the previous year. It presently ranks as the United States’ 17th largest turkey producer.
