GREELEY, Colo. -- Pilgrim's Pride Corp., of Greeley, is buying the midwest's largest chicken producer.
Pilgrim's Pride says it plans to pay $350 million in cash for GNP Co., the producer of Gold'n Plump and Just Bare chicken, which is based in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
The acquisition moves Pilgrim's Pride into new geographical territory and expands its natural and organic products. It's not yet clear what the deal will mean for GNP's production plants in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and its 1,700 employees.
It's the second time Gold'n Plump has been sold in the last three years. One of the country's largest hog producers, Maschhoffs LLC, purchased the company from the founding Helgeson family in 2013 for an undisclosed price.
Pilgrim's Pride is the second largest chicken producer in the world.
