Tyson Foods plans to sell its Circle Foods operations to Ajinomoto Co. Inc., one of the largest food producers in Japan.
In an email sent Monday, Springdale-based Tyson said it is working with Ajinomoto Windsor, the parent company's U.S. subsidiary, on a transition plan.
Ajinomoto Windsor will spend about $48 million, with $28 million for land and building costs and about $20 million for production assets, Ajinomoto Windsor Vice President Paul Taylor* said.
Tyson first approached Ajinomoto last year with plans to sell Circle Foods, a maker of tortillas and flatbreads, Taylor said. The agreement will close April 15.
"As part of this transaction, we will retain some elements and assets of our San Diego operations," a Tyson spokesman said in an email.
-- Nathan Owens
Hired-help provider, Walmart expand deal
Walmart Inc. is expanding a partnership with on-demand services platform Handy.com, giving customers a chance to hire helpers for tasks such as television installation or furniture assembly.
The Bentonville-based retailer said Monday that the service will be available in about 2,000 U.S. stores, building on what had been a 25-store test in Atlanta. Through the partnership, Walmart customers can purchase Handy's services at checkout and schedule an appointment between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. The cost for installing a television, for example, starts at $79.
Walmart joins a list of retailers providing installation and assembly services in efforts to make shopping more convenient for customers. Handy previously partnered with online furniture retailer Wayfair to offer assembly services.
Handy, which was founded in 2012, has a network of 80,000 independent workers who provide handyman, cleaning, painting and other services for customers.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
With a loss of 2.91, index ends at 418.62
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 2.91 to 418.62 Monday.
"U.S. stocks dropped ... with the S&P and Nasdaq suffering their worst day in just over five weeks, over concerns that increased regulation for large tech companies was spearheaded by a plunge in Facebook shares," said Chris Harkins, managing director with Raymond James & Associates in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 23.8 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 03/20/2018
*CORRECTION: Paul Taylor is a vice president of food producer Ajinomoto Windsor. Taylor’s employer was incorrectly reported in a previous version of this article.