Tyson Foods to acquire Keystone Foods

Sale of Chester County firm expected to close in 2019

SPRINGDALE, ARK. » The West Chester-based company known for developing the boneless chicken nugget is being sold. Tyson Foods announced Monday that it is buying the Keystone Foods business from Marfrig Global Foods for $2.16 billion in cash.

Keystone’s global headquarters and R&D technology center are in West Chester. The company has an estimated 11,000 employees and operates in six countries.

In announcing the acquisition Monday, Tyson Foods President and CEO Tom Hayes said Keystone will be a “great addition” to Tyson Foods.

“This acquisition will expand our international presence and value-added production capabilities and help us deliver more value to our foodservice customers,” Hayes said in a press release. “Keystone provides a significant foundation for international growth with its in-country operations, sales and distribution network in high growth markets in the Asia Pacific region as well

as exports to key markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”

Keystone Foods supplies chicken, beef, fish and pork to quick-service restaurant chains around the world, as well as retail and convenience stores.

In fact, according to Keystone Foods’ website, the company has a customer base of more than 36,000 outlets around the world. The company’s product portfolio includes chicken nuggets, wings and tenders; beef patties; and breaded fish fillets.

Included in the sale to Tyson Foods are six processing plants and an innovation center in the U.S., as well as locations in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Not included in the sale is a beef processing plant in Ohio. Another eight Keystone plants and three innovation centers in China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia are also part of the transaction.

Keystone Foods was founded in the early 1960s as a family-owned beef boning business, according to the company’s website. The company developed a mass production and freezing process for hamburgers and in the 1980s developed the chicken nugget.

In 2010, Keystone Foods was purchased by Marfrig Global Foods. The company generated annual revenue of $2.5 billion in the last 12 months ending June 30, 2018. During the same period, approximately 65 percent of its revenue came from U.S.based production and the remaining 35 percent from its Asia Pacific plants, according to the release.

The deal has been approved by Tyson Foods’ board of directors and is expected to close mid-fiscal year 2019. According to Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson, the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

“We look forward to an expeditious close of the transaction and to welcoming Keystone’s dedicated team members to the Tyson Foods family,” he said Monday.

Keystone Food West Chester headquarters is at 905 Airport Road Suite 400, West Chester.

West Chester’s Keystone Foods, known as the developer of the chicken nugget, is being sold to Tyson Foods in a deal valued at $2.16 billion. The acquisition was announced Monday. This sign is at the company’s global headquarters in West Chester.

PETE BANNAN — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA West Chester’s Keystone Foods is being sold to Tyson Foods in a deal valued at $2.16 billion. The acquisition was announced Monday.