A federal bankruptcy judge has approved an idled South Dakota beef packing plant's request for $2.25 million in credit so it can employ an investment banking firm to pursue a sale, reports Associated Press. Judge Charles Nail on Thursday approved Northern Beef Packers' request during a hearing in Pierre.

Nail previously approved the Aberdeen plant's hiring of Lincoln International, which will seek a "stalking horse" bid in which one potential buyer makes an initial offer to set the floor for an auction.

Northern Beef Packers opened its $109 million state-of-the-art facility on a limited basis in 2012 after years of delays. But its owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection less than a year later, saying they didn't have enough money to buy cattle for slaughter.

Source: AP