GREELEY, COLO. – Company officials said the previously announced acquisition of the prepared foods and meals businesses of Kerry Foods by Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., a subsidiary of JBS S.A., was completed, according to a Sept. 27 statement to shareholders. 

The addition of Kerry Meats and Kerry Meals, based in the United Kingdom, will bolster Pilgrim’s position as one of the biggest integrated, value-added food companies in Europe, according to JBS. Kerry Consumer Foods’ Meats and Meals will operate as a business unit of Pilgrim’s operations in Europe. 

The deal was funded with a recent senior notes offering and was valued at $932 million, not including customary closing adjustments.   

Kerry makes branded and private label meats, meat snacks and food-to-go products in the United Kingdom and Ireland, while Kerry Meals provides chilled and frozen ready meals in the United Kingdom. The combined businesses generated more than $1 billion in annual sales during the year ended Dec. 31, 2020.

When announcing the deal in June 2021, Fabio Sandri, Pilgrim’s chief executive officer, said the addition of brands that include Denny, Richmond and Fridge Raiders would increase and stabilize the company’s margin profile. 

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to position Pilgrim’s as a leading prepared foods and branded products player through the acquisition of Kerry Consumer Foods’ Meats and Meals business,” Sandri said. 

“Pilgrim’s is already strongly positioned within the global protein market, and this complementary acquisition provides further breadth into the prepared and branded products segment,” he added.