August 21, 2023

Tyson Foods to sell poultry business in China

Tyson Foods plans to sell its China poultry business, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

Tyson has hired Goldman Sachs to advise on the sale and sent preliminary information to potential buyers including a number of private equity firms, said two of the people, adding the sale process was at an early stage. While it was not immediately clear what valuation Tyson Foods is seeking for the China poultry business, it has annual sales of about US$1.1 billion, one of the sources said.

Tyson said in August it was evaluating all operations and closing four more US chicken plants in the latest bid to reduce costs after its third-quarter revenue and profit missed Wall Street expectations.

The company opened its first factory in China in 2001 and now has four research and development centres, several processing plants and dozens of breeding farms in the country, according to its website for Chinese operations. It operates throughout the industry chain in China, from breeding and slaughtering to processing and distribution, providing chicken, beef, pork and processed foods.

In June, Tyson launched a new factory focusing on processed foods such as cooked chicken and premade Chinese cuisine in the eastern Chinese city of Nantong and another that focuses on frozen and heat-processed foods in the central Chinese city of Xiaogan, the website showed.

- Reuters