Turkey processing company Carolina Turkeys has finalized the purchase of the Butterball Turkey brand from ConAgra Foods, for a purchase price of $325 million

Food & Drink Weekly, Oct 9, 2006

Turkey processing company Carolina Turkeys has finalized the purchase of the Butterball Turkey brand from ConAgra Foods, for a purchase price of $325 million. The acquisition of Butterball, the most widely recognized turkey producer in the U.S., repositions Carolina Turkeys as the nation's largest producer of turkey products.

The expanded company expects production to reach 1.4bn pounds in 2006, or 20% of total turkey production in the U.S. Reflecting the high brand recognition of Butterball, Carolina Turkeys has rebranded itself, changing the company name to Butterball, LLC. In 2005 Carolina Turkeys, which had previously been a commodity business selling whole birds and turkey products to grocery retailers and food service operators, began to shift its focus to become a branded, value-added business. The company first introduced Just Perfect, a premium line of fresh and frozen meat products at this time. In addition to the Butterball brand, Carolina Turkeys has acquired more than 3,200 employees and five processing plants. No layoffs are planned as a result of the acquisition. Carolina Turkeys was a joint venture of Maxwell Farms and Smithfield Foods. Maxwell Farms has taken a 51% stake in Butterball while Smithfield will hold the remaining 49%.