NEWS IN BRIEF

Pentagon contracts with Tyson for fowl

Tyson Foods Inc. has been awarded a $444 million contract to provide chicken products to the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support based in Philadelphia.

The three-year contract is for commercial chicken items, according to a release from the Department of Defense. Tyson’s offer was one of 10 submitted.

Springdale-based Tyson Foods is one of the world’s largest meat producers with $34.37 billion in revenue in 2013, up from $33.1 billion in 2012. Tyson Foods is a leading supplier of the Defense Commissary Agency and has supplied the military for 50 years.

Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support provides U.S.

armed services members with food, clothing, textiles, medicines and medical equipment, construction equipment, and repair parts for major weapon systems, according to its website. It also supports the country’s humanitarian and disaster relief efforts worldwide.

  • John Magsam

Simmons to merge 7 subsidiary banks

Simmons First National Bank plans to consolidate its seven subsidiary banks into a single banking organization, the Pine Bluff bank said.

The subsidiary banks - Simmons First Bank of Northeast Arkansas, Simmons First Bank of Searcy, Simmons First Bank of Hot Springs, Simmons First Bank of Russellville, Simmons First Bank of South Arkansas and Simmons First Bank of El Dorado - will be merged into the parent Pine Bluff bank.

The banks in Jonesboro, Searcy and Hot Springs will be consolidated into Simmons First National in May, and the other banks will be consolidated in August.

Eliminating the separate bank charters will improve Simmons’ efficiency, George Makris, chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

“There are many operational functions that we currently perform separately for each of our seven banks,” Makris said. “After the consolidation these tasks will only need to be performed once.”

The cost-savings move was also done by Arvest Bank in 2002 and by Home BancShares in 2008.

  • David Smith

Arkansas Index rises 1.80 to end at 333.06

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, climbed 1.80 to 333.06 Thursday.

Twelve stocks in the index advanced, three declined and one was unchanged.

Shares of P.A.M. Transportation led the winners, rising 2.6 percent in average trading.

Arkansas Best shares rose 2.5 percent on light volume.

First Federal Bancshares fell 1.4 percent on average volume.

Volume for the index was 19.3 million shares.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business, Pages 27 on 03/07/2014

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