RIDGELAND, MISS. — Cal-Maine Foods Inc. has completed its acquisition of breakfast foods maker Echo Lake Foods Inc. in a cash transaction for approximately $258 million.

The transaction is expected to provide a tax benefit of about $28 million, equating to an effective purchase price of about $230 million, Cal-Maine Foods said.

Echo Lake Foods, based in Burlington, Wis., manufactures and distributes ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods, including waffles, pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs, frozen cooked omelets, egg patties and diced eggs. The company generated revenue of about $240 million in 2024 and has a five-year compound annual growth rate of roughly 10%, Cal-Maine said.

The nation’s largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs, Cal-Maine offers conventional, cage-free, organic, brown, free-range, pasture-raised and nutritionally enhanced eggs plus a range of ready-to-eat egg products. Cal-Maine said the addition of Echo Lake will bring entry into the “large, growing and highly stable value-added food portion” of the egg category; expand relationships with retail, quick-service restaurant and other foodservice customers; and leverage Cal-Maine Foods’ “extensive sales and supply chain distribution capabilities.”

“The addition of Echo Lake Foods advances our stated strategy to expand and diversify our product portfolio and customer mix,” said Sherman Miller, president and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine. “Echo Lake Foods is a leading innovator with a long history of providing quality ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods to a blue-chip customer base. The combined product lines and capabilities of the two companies are highly complementary and, importantly, we share similar values of pursuing operating excellence and meeting the needs of our customers.”

The transaction was first announced in early April.

Plans call for Echo Lake to operate as a stand-alone business unit within Cal-Maine’s operations. Overall, Echo Lake operates four production plants, including in Burlington and Franksville, Wis.; Huntington, Ind.; and Owensboro, Ky.  

“The acquisition of Echo Lake Foods meets our disciplined set of investment criteria, including relevant geographic markets, operating synergies, product mix, proximity to customers and expected financial returns,” Miller said.

Echo Lake CEO Kathy Brodhagen has joined Cal-Maine Foods’ senior management team as president of Echo Lake Foods. Founded in 1941, Echo Lake Foods was acquired by the Meinerz family in 1981.