4th Largest U.S. Beef Packer, National Beef, Acquires Iowa Premium
National Beef Packing Company, LLC, is purchasing Iowa Premium, LLC, adding an additional 1,100 head per day of packing capacity to the beef packer.
The acquisition of Iowa Premium, also known as Iowa Premium Beef, was announced on March 11 and is still pending a customary waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter of 2019 and would give National Beef 100% ownership of Iowa Premium.
Located in Tama, Iowa, the beef packing plant employs more than 800 people and processes approximately 1,100 head of Angus fed cattle per day. Cattle are purchased primarily in Iowa and surrounding states in the Midwest. Iowa Premium specializes in USDA Choice and Prime grade beef. The company markets branded beef products under the Iowa Premium Angus and Est. 8 Angus labels, selling beef both domestically and globally.
“I am excited to expand our beef operations with a processing facility in Iowa and we look forward to strengthening Iowa Premium’s relationships with the family farmers who produce the highest quality Black Angus cattle in the U.S.”, says Tim Klein, President and CEO, National Beef, in making the announcement. “Iowa Premium fits perfectly with our value-based marketing strategy as we continue to provide our customers with the very best beef products and programs.”
The move by National Beef – the fourth largest beef packer in the U.S. – adds another packing plant to the company’s portfolio that also includes two other packing plants in Dodge City and Liberal, Kan. The Kansas City, Mo., based company also has further processing facilities located in Kansas City, Kansas; Hummels Wharf, Pennsylvania; Moultrie, Georgia; North Baltimore, Ohio and St. Joseph, Missouri.
Last year, National Beef had a majority of the business acquired by Brazilian meat packer Marfrig Global Foods. The $969 million purchase gave Marfrig a 51% share in National Beef and boosted the global slaughter capacity to 8.3 million head for Marfrig. National Beef formerly owned a processing plant in Brawley, Calif. that was closed in 2014 and later sold the next year.
National Beef currently employs approximately 8,400 employees. During the 2018 fiscal year, National Beef generated $7.5 billion in sales.
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