Olymel acquires Pinnacle Farms in Alberta

Canadian meat distributor Olymel has acquired Pinnacle Farms, a major hog producer located east of Calgary, near Strathmore, Alberta.

The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Pinnacle currently has a workforce of nearly 30 people, who will now be part of the Olymel staff.

According to the deal, Olymel will take over all inventory and management of Pinnacle Farms operations.

The assets to be acquired by Olymel include a quarantine barn, sow barns, nursery barns and finishing barns.

Olymel president and CEO Réjean Nadeau said: "Olymel is pleased to welcome the employees of Pinnacle Farms into its family. Their experience will be invaluable to Olymel, which receives a boost to its hog production operations in Western Canada.

“I would like to thank Ron Arnason, president of Pinnacle Farms, and Verus Management, Pinnacle's partner with which we have had business relationships for many years and which established the climate of trust that led to this transaction.

“This addition in our pork sector should support the target Olymel has set for 2020: to produce more than 1.5 million hogs annually in Western Canada in order to meet the growing demand from its customers."

The acquisition will also enable Olymel to deliver nearly 100,000 more hogs a year to the Olymel processing plant in Red Deer, Alberta.

Pinnacle Farms director Ron Arnason said: "Pinnacle has been supplying finishing hogs to Olymel for more than four years, so our two companies have had time to get to know one another.

“Verus Management and I are pleased with the conclusion of this relationship and the transaction we are announcing today. We are confident that Pinnacle Farms employees will find a dynamic environment at Olymel where they can maximise their work.

“This transaction opens the door to the company's further development, and will enable it to serve new markets.”