Antitrust Litigation Filed in Chicken Processing Business
Gold Kist, the third largest chicken producer in the United States, has filed a federal antitrust complaint against Pilgrim’s Pride, the second largest, claiming that Pilgrim’s Pride is trying to take control of Gold Kist by nominating nine officers of Pilgrim’s Pride for the Gold Kist board of directors. The complaint alleges that the conduct of Pilgrim’s Pride violates the prohibition on interlocking boards between competing corporations set forth in the Clayton Act, and that the proxy filing of Pilgrim’s Pride in August with the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to note that its proposal violated federal law. On September 28, 2006, Pilgrim’s Pride offered $20 per share for all outstanding shares of Gold Kist, contingent on the nine officers of Pilgrim’s Pride being placed on the Gold Kist board. Gold Kist is seeking to have the entire matter enjoined. Gold Kist, Inc. v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, et al., No. 06CV2441 (N.D. Ga. filed Oct. 12, 2006).