TYSON FOODS ANNOUNCES PLANS TO ACQUIRE MALLARD FOOD PRODUCTS

SPRINGDALE, Ark. -- Tyson Foods here said it plans to acquire Mallard's Food Products, a manufacturer of fresh refrigerated home-meal replacement dishes, pastas and sauces with points of distribution in supermarkets.

res refrigerated pastas and sauces, and private-label pasta and sauces for Safeway, Ralphs and other West Coast supermarket chains.

In 1995, Mallard's rolled out its HMR line, Mallard's Cooking Made Easy, a collection of dishes made with pastas and chicken or beef. This spring, the prepared-food supplier added six new dishes made with chicken or beef and non-pasta starches -- including steak Ranchero with Spanish-style rice and Tex-Mex-style beans, chicken and dumpling mix, and braised sirloin beef tips with garlic mashed potatoes.

Mallard's has been supplying pasta sauces for the Tyson-branded chicken with pasta Gourmet Selections meals, introduced earlier this year.

Dan Costa, Mallard's founder and chief executive officer, will be president of the new Tyson subsidiary, and headquarters will remain in Modesto.

Tyson is the world's largest producer, processor and marketer of chicken and poultry products.

Mallard's, the nation's third-largest producer of refrigerated gourmet pastas and sauces, has a line including more than 35 pastas and 15 sauce varieties, and annual sales of about $40 million.