9-16 news: JBS buys majority stake in Pilgrim's Pride
The reorganization plan must be confirmed by a bankruptcy judge, the New York Times reports. Proceeds from the sale of the new common stock of the reorganized Pilgrim's Pride to JBS will be used to fund cash distributions to allowed claims under the plan. Under the terms of the plan, all creditors of the Debtors holding allowed claims will be paid in full, either in cash or by issuance of a new note.
"Over the past 10 months, we have fundamentally restructured Pilgrim's Pride as a market-driven company clearly focused on delivering the best service, selection and value to our customers as efficiently as possible," said Don Jackson, president and chief executive officer. "Thanks to the shared commitment and hard work of our employees, we believe that Pilgrim's Pride is positioned to emerge from bankruptcy as a stronger, more efficient competitor. We have returned to profitability, the quality of our asset base has improved significantly and we are gaining additional business. While we recognize that some of the changes made during our restructuring have been painful for our employees and contract growers, these decisions were absolutely necessary in helping Pilgrim's Pride to operate more efficiently while protecting the greatest number of jobs in the long-term. As a result of the improvements achieved this year, we believe we have been able to maximize the value of our company through our plan of reorganization that achieves what precious few restructurings can: full repayment of allowed creditor claims and substantial retained value for existing stockholders."