PITTSBURG, TEXAS — The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice have given Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. antitrust clearance for a proposed stock purchase agreement with JBS U.S.A. Holdings, Inc.

In September, Pilgrim’s Pride and six of its subsidiaries filed a joint plant of reorganization and related disclosure statement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. As part of the reorganization plan, Pilgrim’s Pride has entered into an agreement to sell 64% of the new common stock of the reorganized Pilgrim’s Pride to JBS U.S.A. for $800 million in cash. The company expects the plan to be confirmed by the bankruptcy court in time to emerge from bankruptcy before the end of December.