Tyson sells off Mexico, Brazil poultry business

Tyson Foods is selling both its Mexican and Brazilian poultry businesses for a total of $575 million to help pay for its acquisition of Hillshire Brands, the company announced today.

Last month Tyson agreed to purchase Hillshire Brands for $7.7 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride will purchase the Mexican business — Tyson de México — with three plants and 5,400 employees, and JBS Foods is purchasing the Brazilian business Tyson do Brasil including three plants and 5,000 employees.

The acquisitions are expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Tyson said it would continue to sell both U.S. and Mexican produced chicken in Mexico, through a copackaging agreement with Pilgrim’s Pride.

"Although these are good businesses with great team members, we haven’t had the necessary scale to gain leading share positions in these markets,” said Donnie Smith, president and CEO of Tyson Foods in a news release.

“In the short term, we’ll use the sale proceeds to pay down debt associated with our acquisition of Hillshire Brands. Longer term, we remain committed to our international business and will continue to explore opportunities to extend our international presence.”

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