Tyson Foods

During an emotional 15-minute meeting Jan. 9, shareholders of Hudson Foods Inc. approved the sale of the 25-year-old Rogers-based company to rival Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale.rMichael Hudson, president and CEO of Hudson Foods, presided over the meeting in Fayetteville. The sale was apparently prompted by the recall of 25 million pounds of ground beef from a Hudson processing plant in Columbus, Neb. — the largest meat recall in history.rIt cost Tyson Foods more than $1 billion to take over the beleaguered Hudson empire, says Ed Nicholson, a spokesman for Tyson Foods. rThe cost includes $257 million in cash, $393 million in stock and $373 million in debt that Hudson had previously acquired.rAfter the takeover, Tyson Foods will have a 54 percent leverage, the ratio of debt to capital. That figure was 56 percent in January 1997 and 51 percent at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.rThe merger added about 12,000 employees the 59,000 already worked for Tyson Foods. Tyson doesn’t plan to close any of Hudson’s 14 processing plants.rHudson shareholders received $8.40 and six-tenths of a Tyson share for each of their Hudson shares.