Maple Leaf Foods Inc. has closed on its deal to sell its pork processing operation in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
The sale, which went to an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners Inc., brought in roughly $20 million for the company. "This sale will complete the transformation of our fresh pork operations to focus our growth on branded, consumer-focused prepared meats and meals business," said Chief Financial Officer Michael Vels. The sale reduces Maple Leaf's annual pork processing from over 7 million hogs to 4.3 million hogs.
Sun Capital Partners plans to expand into international markets and build the company's market share for specialty and value-added products. "We are fully committed to growing the business, bringing our investment experience in the food processing industry to bear, working closely with hog suppliers and serving the markets with top-quality products," said Anthony Polazzi, principal at Sun Capital Partners.
