Pilgrim's Pride Files For Chapter 11
Embattled US chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride, the nation's largest, has finally bitten the bullet and filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday.
A Pilgrim's spokesman said the company was reorganizing and not liquidating its assets. It also said it has received a commitment for up to $450 million in debtor-in-possession financing, arranged by the Bank of Montreal.
The company controls about 24 percent of the US market, and is a large chicken producer in Mexico, where it also has three production facilities.
Pilgrim's, which employs around 50,000 people, has been struggling along weighed down by high feed costs, falling meat prices and $2.72 billion in debts. It had been forced to negotiate a waiver from it's creditors three times in the last few months. The last waiver expired today.
A company that files for Chapter 11 gets 18 months of court-supervised protection from its creditors while it reorganises.
A Pilgrim's spokesman said the company was reorganizing and not liquidating its assets. It also said it has received a commitment for up to $450 million in debtor-in-possession financing, arranged by the Bank of Montreal.
The company controls about 24 percent of the US market, and is a large chicken producer in Mexico, where it also has three production facilities.
Pilgrim's, which employs around 50,000 people, has been struggling along weighed down by high feed costs, falling meat prices and $2.72 billion in debts. It had been forced to negotiate a waiver from it's creditors three times in the last few months. The last waiver expired today.
A company that files for Chapter 11 gets 18 months of court-supervised protection from its creditors while it reorganises.