US meat giant Tyson Foods has sold its minority stake in its Indian joint venture with local conglomerate Godrej Agrovet.
The Mumbai-headquartered company has acquired Tyson’s 49% stake in Godrej Tyson Foods to become its sole owner, according to a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Financial details were not disclosed.
The joint venture was formed in 2008 and sells brands like Real Good Chicken and Yummiez, according to Godrej Agrovet’s website. Godrej Tyson Foods has processing plants in Bangalore and Mumbai, as well as a separate production facility for its vegetarian products in Ladhowal, Ludhiana.
Tyson Foods could not immediately be reached for comment on the sale.
The venture was originally expected to generate annual sales of around $50m when it was first announced.
In 2014, Godrej Tyson Foods increased its capacity by 80% to drive the growth of its value-added chicken brands, it told Just Food.
The Indian conglomerate announced it had agreed to buy the 49% stake, alongside its first-quarter results for its fiscal 2025.
Godrej Agrovet reported a 23% increase in consolidated net profit, reaching Rs1.32bn ($15.7m) for the first three-month period, up from Rs1.07bn a year earlier.
However, revenue for the quarter fell by 6.4% to Rs23.51bn, missing the projected figure of Rs26.21bn.
Tyson Foods announced a change in CFO yesterday (29 August). The company appointed a permanent replacement for suspended CFO John R. Tyson, the son of the company’s chairman who has been arrested twice in two years.
Curt Calaway, who has been the meat giant’s interim finance chief since Mr Tyson’s most recent suspension, will take on the role permanently.
In Tyson Foods’ recently published third-quarter results, operating income of $341m compared to a loss of $350m a year earlier, while adjusted operating income of $491m was up 174% year-on-year.
Sales of $13.35bn were up from $3.14bn a year earlier, beating analysts’ estimates of $13.24bn.
The Jimmy Dean brand owner consequently upped the lower end of its adjusted operating income forecast for fiscal 2024 to $1.6bn to $1.8bn, from $1.4bn to $1.8bn.
