Tyson Foods Explores Sale of Its Poultry Business in China

Tyson Foods, a leading food processing company in the United States, is reportedly planning to put its poultry business in China up for sale. Sources who know the matter shared that the company is currently looking into this option to lower costs.

According to Reuters, this is the latest case of a global brand looking to withdraw its business in the Chinese nation in recent years. It was said that Tyson Foods already hired Goldman Sachs to be its advisor for the proposed sale.

Through Goldman Sachs, the Springdale, Arkansas, food company already sent out preliminary information to all possible buyers. The group also included several private equity firms in its list of potential buyers.

Two insiders said the sale process is still very early, so the reported deal details are not clear yet. Moreover, while it is not certain what valuation the company is seeking for its chicken segment in China, the brand has annual sales of around $1.1 billion.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has been contacted for comments and confirmation of the sale of Tyson Foods’ poultry business, but the investment banking company was said to have declined. Currently, the sources said the deal is still confidential up to now.

Bloomberg reported that discussions to divest the said business unit in China are ongoing. It was pointed out that in this stage, Tyson Foods can still decide to just keep the asset.

Meanwhile, Tyson Foods opened its very first production plant in China in 2001. This year, the company already shut down at least six chicken manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and cited efforts to streamline operations and bolster capacity use as the reason for the move.

Photo by: Tyson/Unsplash