Cal-Maine Foods to acquire Hillandale Companies

29/07/05 Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire the operations of Hillandale Farms, Inc. and Hillandale Farms of Florida, Inc. The purchase agreement provides that most of the assets, liabilities and operations of the two Hillandale companies will be put into a new limited liability company. Cal-Maine will acquire 51 percent of the company immediately and purchase the remaining 49 percent over the next four years. Jack Hazen, founder and major shareholder of Hillandale, will continue to serve as chief operating officer of the operations.

Hillandale began operations in Florida over 30 years ago and is one of the major egg production and marketing companies in the United States. The Hillandale acquisition will increase Cal-Maine's egg production capacity by approximately 30 percent and provide a strong market presence in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Financial details of the transaction are not available at this time.

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. is primarily engaged in the production, grading, packing and sale of fresh shell eggs. The Company, which is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, currently is the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the United States and sells the majority of its shell eggs in approximately 28 states across the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

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