Tyson again delays Hillshire acquisition
Tyson Foods pushed back its deadline to acquire Hillshire Brands by another week because of an antitrust request, the companies announced Tuesday night.
The companies first pushed back the deadline on Aug. 12, the same day the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice requested documents for the second time from both companies. On Tuesday, the companies extended the deadline another week to next Tuesday.
In a news release, the companies stressed that the request covered "a very small portion" of the combined businesses, and they were working with the Department of Justice to resolve the matter quickly. The companies expect the transaction to be completed by or before Sept. 27.
Joshua Silverstein, a law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said it wasn't unusual for delays to occur in large acquisitions.
"Mergers and acquisitions are some of the most complicated transactions that companies work on," he said. "It's a rare deal that doesn't have some sort of delay at some point."
-- Brian Fanney
Firm to build PB wood pellets plant
Highland Pellets plans to spend $130 million to build a wood pellet facility in Pine Bluff that will produce 551,000 tons of the product annually, the privately held Arkansas firm said Wednesday.
The plant will create more than 35 jobs. In a news release, the company said the plant will create an additional 482 "indirect jobs" and $86 million in additional direct financial impact.
Wood pellets are used as fuel by European industrial utilities to lower their carbon emissions.
The plant is the first built under the Highland brand, Chairman Tom Reilley said.
Highland Pellets' business partners include a leading forestry company that will provide the raw material for making the pellets, the news release said.
Construction of the facility should begin in October, and deliveries from the plant are expected to begin in March 2016.
-- David Smith
Arkansas Index sees 6 stocks rise, 11 dip
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, advanced slightly by 0.20 to 349.43 Wednesday.
"U.S. stocks moved higher on Wednesday after the release of Federal Reserve minutes from the latest meeting indicated the central bank will continue to support the economy amid a choppy labor market," said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock. "The Arkansas Index ended barely higher as six stocks advanced and 11 declined."
Dillard's gained 2.5 percent on heavy volume.
Murphy USA hit another 52-week high, closing up 2.4 percent in average volume.
USA Truck lost 2.7 percent in nominal trading.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 08/21/2014