Egg major Cal-Maine Foods has acquired a US peer in the category Creighton Brothers for about $128.5m.
Creighton Brothers, established in 1925, produces, grades and packs “conventional and speciality” shell eggs for retail and foodservice customers.
In a statement issued yesterday (2 March), Mississippi-headquartered Cal-Maine said the deal also includes Crystal Lake.
Crystal Lake makes ready-to-use egg products for the out-of-home channel and food manufacturers, including liquid, frozen and hard-cooked eggs. It also supplies pre-cooked egg patties, omelettes and scrambled eggs.
Both businesses are based in Warsaw, Indiana. Cal-Maine said it previously had no shell egg operations in the area.
The acquired assets include shell egg production and grading capacity of around 3.2 million laying hens, including 500,000 that are cage-free. The package also includes 865,000 pullets.
The Nasdaq-listed company is also taking on a feed mill, 1,007 acres of land, and an egg products and hard-cooked egg processing facility.
Commenting on the deal, Cal-Maine president and CEO Sherman Miller said: “The acquisition of Creighton Brothers and Crystal Lake advances our strategy by expanding the scale and geographic reach of our shell egg platform, across both speciality eggs and conventional eggs, adding meaningful growth to our portfolio.
“Importantly, with nearby liquid egg capacity, we further our internal sourcing strategy for key egg-based ingredients for our prepared foods business - strengthening supply security, improving margins, and driving greater operational efficiency.”
Cal-Maine said Creighton Brothers and Crystal Lake will be fully integrated into its existing operations, including its 177 employees.
In April, Cal-Maine Foods acquired breakfast-foods business Echo Lake Foods for approximately $258m.
The company produces, packages and distributes a range of ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast items, such as waffles, pancakes, diced eggs and frozen cooked omelettes among others.
In July 2024, the company acquired “substantially” all of the assets of local peer ISE America and “certain affiliates” for around $110m.
Last year, Cal-Maine created a chief strategy officer role to "unlock new growth opportunities", a position filled by Keira Lombardo.
