Maple Leaf Foods announced Oct. 4 the Competition Act condition required to proceed with the previously-announced sale of Rothsay, its rendering and biodiesel business, to Darling International Inc. of Irving, Texas has been satisfied. The company expects to close the transaction on Oct. 28, subject to satisfaction of remaining conditions.
Proceeds from the transaction of approximately $645 million will initially be used to pay down debt. Upon completion of a prepared meats strategy, management will consider appropriate deployment of excess capital, including reinvesting in its core consumer packaged food businesses or returning excess capital to shareholders.
Rothsay is the leading rendering company in Canada and a leading producer of biodiesel. The business operates six rendering plants located in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia and a biodiesel facility in Quebec. It employs approximately 550 people, who will transition to Darling once the transaction closes. Darling International Inc. is the largest and only publicly traded provider of rendering and bakery residuals recycling solutions to the U.S. food industry.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc., headquartered in Toronto, employs approximately 19,500 people at its operations across Canada and in the United States, the United Kingdom and Asia.
The company had sales of $4.9 billion in 2012.
