OAKWOOD, Ga. – Wayne Farms, a unit of Continental Grain Co., expects to gain $233.8 million from its initial public offering of $19.50 per share, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company is offering more than 12 million shares of Class A stock with an option to purchase additional shares in addition to more than 40 million shares of Class B stock. The company’s ticker symbol will be “WNFM.”


The company said it plans to use approximately $161.9 million toward repayment of existing debt. Roughly $25 million will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, and the remaining funds — approximately $38.7 million — will be used to make a distribution to Continental Grain.

Wayne Farms is the sixth-largest integrated producer and processor of broiler chicken products in the United States. The company operates nine integrated complexes that include nine hatcheries, nine feed mills, nine slaughter processing plants and two further processing plants.