KANSAS CITY, MO. — National Beef Packing Company LLC, announced plans to acquire Prime Tanning Corp Leathers LLC, St. Joseph, Mo. for an undisclosed amount. If approved, the acquisition would operate as part of National Beef Leather LLC and expand National Beef’s presence in the wet blue hide category by supplying raw material to manufacturers of finished leather products.

Robert Hein, senior vice president and general manager of National Beef Leather said, "This is an exciting opportunity for us to pursue quality leather customers while guaranteeing a premium wet blue product and a predictable supply."

In a press release announcing the plan, John Miller, chief executive officer of National Beef, said the bovine hide business has traditionally been commodity driven. "Owning a wet blue tannery will allow us to add significant value to the hides that we produce in our beef-processing facilities," he added.

National Beef is the fourth-largest beef processor in the U.S. with sales exceeding $5 billion annually. It was recently the acquisition target of JBS S.A. until the Brazilian company announced the termination of the proposed deal this past month, after nearly a year of waiting for U.S. Department of Justice approval.

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