Sunrise Farms is set to acquire the poultry processing business fellow Canadian company T&R Sargent Farms in the coming weeks.
The two companies entered into a binding agreement in which Sunrise Farms would acquire the assets T&R Sargent Farms, also known as Sargent Farms, effective June 5. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.
Presuming the transaction is finalized, the processing operations of Sargent Farms will become part of Sunrise Farms’ Sunrise Poultry Processors business unit. According to information on the Sunrise Farms website, Sunrise Poultry Processors is its primary processing unit, while Grand River Foods is its further processing unit.
Sargent Farms was founded in 1943 and produces poultry and food products for the Ontario marketplace. This acquisition enables Sunrise Foods to expand its geographical footprint. Its other operations are in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba.
“We are very excited about this opportunity to expand into the Ontario primary chicken market and we look forward to working with Sargent’s customers, chicken farmers and other industry stakeholders. We thank Bob Sargent, and his team, for trusting in us to move forward with the business they have built,” said Peter Shoore, founder and chairman, Sunrise Farms.
Sunrise Farms intends to maintain ‘business as usual’ at Sargent Farms with no changes to its employees, operations, halal product offerings or the Sargent management team.
Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO), in a press release, welcomed the news of the planned acquisition.
“CFO welcomes Sunrise Farms and is pleased to see this new investment in the Ontario chicken processing sector,” said CFO Chair Murray Opsteen. “CFO and its farmers have a longstanding relationship with Sargent Farms, as Sargent has been a significant contributor to our sector. We would like to extend our appreciation for many years spent working collaboratively with our farmers and providing high-quality chicken to Ontarians.”
Sunrise Foods was founded in 1983, with one small processing facility in Surry, British Columbia.
In 2018, Sargent Farms in a partnership with Boire & Freres opened a hatchery in Woodstock, Ontario.
