In a compromise settlement between the lender companies in the Zacky Farms bankruptcy, California’s largest poultry producer, Foster Farms, has won the bidding to acquire 19 former Zacky Farms poultry processing plants in the Central Valley.

It was reported that Foster Farms will pay $31 million for the 19 properties, according to a September 27 court filing in Los Angeles.

Nearly one year ago, Zacky Farms, a California-based turkey company, announced it would cease operations, stating, “We have put our best foot forward, but as we struggled in the current state of the industry conditions, it has been impossible for us to continue profitably.”

At that time, Zacky Farms was the 18th largest turkey company in the United States, having processed 82.96 million pounds of live turkeys in 2017. The company had earlier faced financial struggles, and it filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in October 2012. It had also obtained a $25 million secured term loan just five months prior to the decision to close was made.

Properties to be sold include ranches in Corcoran, Riverdale, three near Lemoore, Caruthers, four properties in Kerman and properties in Fresno, Helendale and Apple Valley. Court papers do not yet indicate a final closing date for the sale of the properties that could still be modified.

Other Zacky Farms properties were earlier sold to OK Produce and the Fresno Interstate Business Park.

Headquartered in Livingston, California, Foster Farms is involved in both broiler and turkey production, owning farms in California and Louisiana. As a broiler producer, Foster Farms also ranks 11th among companies in the United States, having processed 24.57 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis in 2018. Livingston-based Foster Farms is already a $3 billion company and the West’s largest poultry producer and now looks to grow its ranches to complement a processing expansion. The company was founded in 1939 by Max and Verda Foster.

In February, the company appointed Dan Huber to become its chief executive officer. He previously served as chief operating officer.

“From the start, Foster Farms has steadily grown through strategic purchases of highly desired land, poultry ranches and facilities in the West Coast and beyond,” said Ira Brill, Foster Farms’ vice president of communications in a statement sent to the Business Journal.