CELAYA, MEXICO – Antitrust authorities in Mexico approved a transaction which has Industrias Bachoco S.A.B. de C.V. acquiring a 54.8% stake in Sonora Agropecuaria S.A. de C.V. (SASA), a pork processor and distributor with operations in Sonora and Jalisco, Mexico.

Bachoco plans to invest $2 billion pesos ($46 million) in the pork business over the next four years. The deal also calls for SASA to acquire assets related to Bachoco’s live swine business. This transaction will be done through a Bachoco S.A. de C.V subsidiary, the company said.

“This agreement is in line with our inorganic growth strategy, making synergy with our actual business line of live swine, allowing us to enter in the processed and export pork business,” said Rodolfo Ramos, chief executive officer at Bachoco. “We are expecting to integrate this operation as soon as possible in order to capture the opportunities that we have identified.”

SASA is among the top 10 meat processors in Mexico with a production capacity of roughly 15,000 hogs per week. The company serves both domestic and export markets. Bachoco is a leading poultry processor in Mexico.