Tyson Foods, Cargill and Fosun International have expressed interest in potentially acquiring Keystone Foods, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Keystone supplies chicken nuggets to McDonald’s as well as fresh and frozen animal protein products including beef patties, chicken fillets and patties, and wings to quick service restaurants, retailers, and industrial food service companies.
Marfrig, Brazil’s second-largest beef producer bought Keystone for $1.26 billion in 2010. Bloomberg reported that Mafrig plans to sell Keystone to raise more than $3 billion, according to people who asked not to be named because current discussions are private.
Marfrig said last month it will use some of the proceeds from the sale of Keystone to pay for the $969 million acquisition of a controlling stake in the National Beef Packing Company, the fourth-largest American beef packing company.
Keystone has operations in the United States, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia. It is expected that an agreement on the transaction may be reach in the next several weeks. Mafrig, Tyson Foods, Cargill, and Forsun International have declined to comment on the sales talks.
