PITTSBURG, TEXAS – According to court documents filed as part of its bankruptcy proceedings, Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. is attempting to sell its portion of a grain elevator business to its joint-venture partner, Archer Daniels Midland Co.

Facing financial challenges, Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas last month. The processor is seeking court approval to sell its interest in the grain-elevator business for $5 million.

Papers recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Fort Worth, Texas, indicate Pilgrim’s Pride wants to sell its stake to ADM for several reasons. First, an attempt to sell this business attracted only one offer from a grain vendor for less money than a sale to ADM would yield. Second, ADM has a right of refusal to any deal and would prevent a sale of Pilgrim’s stake in the venture to anyone other than itself, the processor claimed.

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