Five Star Custom Foods Inc. of Fort Worth has been acquired by Cargill Meats Solutions Corp.
The acquisition includes Five Star’s Fort Worth and Nashville facilities and sees the Fort Worth firm added to Wichita, Kan.-based Cargill.
The company said that Five Star will enhance its cooked protein capabilities, optimize supply chain efficiencies and provide innovation opportunities.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and the transaction is subject to customary regulatory review. Approval and finalization of the purchase is expected sometime this summer.
“We’re thrilled with the opportunity to add Five Star Custom Foods to the Cargill family because it has a record of proven success producing high-quality, value-added, customized products that delight its customers,” said Brian Sikes, corporate vice president of Cargill’s, commenting in a news release.
Sharing that stance is Five Star.
“Cargill is a company with a rich history and reputation for producing exceptional products,” said president and founding partner Jeff Bledsoe.
“Together, we share a commitment for taking care of employees and nurturing customer relationships. As we look toward the future, we are excited by Cargill’s commitment to excellence and long-term profitable growth,” Bledsoe said.
Five Star Custom Foods opened in 1999 and currently employs 385. The newly announced deal marks the second Fort Worth operation Cargill has purchased in the past four years. In 2012, it bought a beef grind facility in the area. More recently, Cargill announced its acquisition of a ground beef processing plant in Columbia, S.C.
Cargill to acquire Fort Worth-based Five Star Custom Foods, Ltd.
Five Star specializes in cooked protein products and custom-prepared soups and sauces for the foodservice and food processing sectors.
Lazard Middle Market served as financial adviser to Five Star Custom Foods in the latest transaction.
In other Cargill news:
Cargill plans to keep several operations in Wichita
ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Agribusiness giant Cargill said Tuesday it will keep its protein operations in Wichita, Kansas, and search for a new facility to house them.
Wichita is home to the company’s beef business and its turkey and cooked meat business, which includes deli meats. Its processed protein services, such as its North American egg business and its food distribution, also are located in Wichita.
“We didn’t choose Wichita because we thought we could survive. We chose Wichita because we believed we will thrive here,” Cargill corporate vice president Brian Sikes said.
The Minneapolis-based company had been considering moving its Wichita operations to another location, citing workflow issues with having people in multiple buildings in the city. The company has been looking for the past six months at relocating its protein operations, possibly to Texas or Colorado, before ultimately deciding that Wichita is “the right place for us,” Sikes said.
Most of the 900 employees that work in Wichita are housed in a 10-story building, although some also work in leased space in another building. The company will begin searching Wednesday for a new location in Wichita, Sikes said.
Cargill cited a “collaborative atmosphere” between the company and city and state officials to creating a business environment that will enable the company to meet its customers’ needs. Sikes declined to specify what financial incentives that involved. Other criteria the company considered included minimizing disruption to the business from relocation, quality of life for its employees and optimizing company resources.
Sipes acknowledged that cuts to state government services and to Wichita schools were a concern as the company weighed whether to stay in the city, especially given the number of its employees with families. He said the company sees its decision to stay despite them “as an opportunity to be part of the solution.”
The Cargill Innovation Center is nearby. Cargill also has a 50-employee plant that crushes soybeans to make oil. The company recently announced it’s making a $50 million expansion there.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said he was “ecstatic” that Cargill decided to stay in Wichita, saying the state is “globally competitive at supplying protein to a hungry world.”