010127 Maple Leaf Buys Schneider Meat PlantsJanuary 19, 2001Toronto - Meat producer Maple Leaf Foods Inc. said it would buy two Manitoba-based fresh pork operation plants from rival meat producer Schneider Corp. in a deal worth C$44 million. Maple Leaf said in a release that it will pay C$34 million for the two plants -- a slaughter facility that processes 18,000 hogs per week and a cut plant built in the mid-1990s. Maple Leaf will also pay C$10 million for capital. The company said it expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings in 2001. As part of the deal, Schneider will also purchase Maple Leaf's interest in Toronto-based National Meats Inc., a joint venture of Schneider and Maple Leaf that manufactures a variety of value added pork and beef products for the retail and food service markets. Maple Leaf said it would honor all existing contracts with hog producers and other suppliers as well as collective agreements. All employees affected by the transaction will have the opportunity to become Maple Leaf employees. Schneider said in a separate statement that slow hog production in Manitoba and western Canada prompted the restructuring. “This factor has caused us to reconsider our investment in a new pork processing plant in Manitoba, and we have made the decision to change course and redeploy our capital to support continued growth in our value added retail and food service businesses,” said Douglas Dodds, chairman and chief executive at Schneider Corp.
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