Pilgrim’s Pride may be headed for buyout

MILWAUKEE – The sky could be falling on Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., the chicken industry’s biggest producer.

With its temporary financing ending on Tuesday and credit markets tight all around, the company faces an uncertain future. Some analysts say it could file for bankruptcy, though Pilgrim’s Pride has said that option is unlikely. Others say the company is ripe for a buyout, either in whole or in part, by competitors.

Whatever the case, analysts say Pilgrim’s Pride, whose chairman has been with the company since its beginnings six decades ago, must change.

“We find it unlikely that the company, under pressure from its bankers and advice from its consultant, will continue in its current form,” Deutsche Bank North America analyst Christina McGlone wrote last week. “Essentially, Pilgrim’s Pride as we know it today will cease to exist.”

Company spokesman Gary Rhodes said Pilgrim’s Pride won’t be making any comments. Earlier this month, he was widely quoted as saying that filing for bankruptcy wouldn’t be in “anyone’s best interest.”

He told The Associated Press this month that the company was working on a plan to help it address industry woes such as weak demand and pricing and an oversupply of chicken. He also said it was looking at opportunities to refinance and find more ways to operate more efficiently.

Gas prices tumble

53 cents in 2 weeks

AMARILLO, Calif. – A national survey shows gas prices continue to decline, tumbling nearly 53 cents a gallon in the last two weeks.

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline at self-serve stations was $2.78 Friday. Mid-grade was at $2.93 and premium was at $3.05.

That’s according to the Lundberg Survey of 5,000 gas stations nationwide, released Sunday.

Gas was cheapest in Wichita, Kan., at $2.26 for a gallon of regular. It was most expensive in Anchorage, Alaska, at $3.50.

The Lundberg average price for Tucson’s gas was not available. However a rival gas price site, gasbuddy.com, said Tucson’s average price for a gallon of gas Sunday was $2.74.

According to AAA, Tucson’s average gas price Friday was about $2.82 a gallon, which it said was the lowest in the state.

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