Tyson to Sell Hog Operations in N.C.

Poultry giant Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale said it is selling its North Carolina hog operations.

John Tyson, president and CEO of Tyson Foods, spoke Saturday at the annual convention of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in San Antonio of reducing of the company’s swine herd. He would not disclose the sale price or the buyer, although he said the offer was from a producer in the “area” of the Creswell, N.C., operation.

Tyson added that the North Carolina facility was too isolated from its main pork operations in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Meanwhile, Wednesday is the latest deadline Tyson Foods has set for the acquisition of meat packing giant IBP Inc. of Dakota Falls, S.D., but John Tyson said the deadline — the third since IBP accepted its original offer — could be extended if the Securities and Exchange Commission needed more time to check IBP’s bookkeeping records.

Officials from IBP were to meet with the SEC today.

Also today, Tyson Foods declared a quarterly dividend of 4 cents per share on Class A common stock and 3.6 cents per share on Class B common stock, payable on June 15 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 1.

Shares of Tyson (NYSE: TSN) were trading at $13.41 on Monday morning after closing at $13.25 on Friday. IBP (NYSE: IBP), meanwhile, was trading at $25.80 after closing at $25.13 on Friday.