Maple Leaf Foods sells seven plants for $645 million
By Canadian Packaging Staff
General acquisition biodiesel plant consumer packaged foods Darling International Inc. Maple Leaf Foods rendering plants Rothsay salesFood giant says it wants to concentrate on consumer packaged foods.
TORONTO—Maple Leaf Foods is selling its rendering and biodiesel business to Texas-based Darling International Inc. for about $645-million.
According to the Canadian food giant, its Rothsay business operates six renderings plants across Canada, including in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, as well as a biodiesel facility in Quebec. Rothsay is the largest rendering business in Canada.
Maple Leaf president and chief executive officer Michael McCain says the sale is part of his firm’s plan to focus solely on consumer packaged foods.
“The sale will support future investments in our consumer facing businesses and allow Darling to build on Rothsay’s strong capabilities and deep customer relationships,” says McCain.
Rothsay employs approximately 550 people, who will transition to Darling once the transaction closes.
Darling is the largest provider of rendering and bakery residuals recycling solutions to the U.S. food industry, recycling beef, poultry and pork by-products.
The company also recovers and converts used cooking oil and commercial bakery residuals into valuable feed and fuel ingredients.
According to Maple Leaf, it plans to enter into a long-term agreement with Darling to receive by-products recycling services from the Irving, Texas-based firm once the transaction closes.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2013, subject to regulatory approvals.
Visit www.darlingii.com for more information on Darling International.
More information on Maple Leaf Foods can be found via www.mapleleaffoods.com.
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