The following article is from meatingplace.com:
Embroiled in a continuously expanding recall of beef products, XL Foods has agreed to hand the reins of some of its Canadian operations over to JBS USA and give the Greeley, Colo.-based subsidiary of Brazilian giant JBS SA the option to buy those and XL’s U.S. operations, JBS said late Wednesday in a news release.
The announcement came several hours after XL announced that its Brooks, Alberta, plant was laying off hundreds of workers that had been recalled amid the company’s efforts to resume operations. As of Tuesday, when it was announced that more products were being recalled, the company had recalled more than 1,800 beef products on fears of E. coli O157:H7 contamination.
Under the agreement, JBS USA in Canada will manage the Alberta-based XL Lakeside beef processing plant, which has a total capacity to process 4,000 head of cattle per day. Meanwhile, XL will continue to oversee operations at its U.S. facilities during the option period.
As part of this agreement, JBS USA negotiated the exclusive option to purchase the following assets:
- 1 beef packing plant in Brooks (Alberta/Canada) with capacity to process 4,000 head of cattle per day.
- 1 beef packing plant in Calgary (Alberta/Canada) with capacity to process 1,000 head of cattle per day.
- 1 feedlot in Brooks (Alberta/Canada) with a one-time capacity to feed 70,000 head of cattle.
- 6,600 acres of farmland adjacent to the feedlot in Brooks (Alberta/Canada).
- 1 beef packing plant in Omaha (Nebraska/USA) with capacity to process 1,200 head of cattle per day.
- 1 beef packing plant in Nampa (Idaho/USA) with capacity to process 1,000 head of cattle per day.
If it were to exercise the exclusive option to purchase these assets, JBS would pay a total of US$100 million, half in company shares and half in cash. JBS would not assume any of XL Foods’ debt or liabilities, the company said.
Source: meatingplace.com
Posted by Haylie Shipp
