The Gleaner reports that the Jamaican poultry company disclosed via a stock market filing that it plans to close sale on the company, a producer and broker of broiler-hatching eggs, within 45 days. The price of the acquisition is to remain confidential until the deal closes, JBG said.

JBG President and CEO, Christopher Levy, said his company already owned broiler-hatching facilities in both the US and Jamaica, and the current transaction was a direct expansion of the overseas operation only and would not affect the existing supply arrangements locally.

Mr Levy said most of the eggs used in Jamaica are sourced from Jamaica Broilers' network of contractors, "and then we import to supplement the shortfall that we are not able to source locally," he added.

He added that the acquisition would not affect local suppliers but would help JBG better service its overseas markets.

He said: "Eighty per cent of what we produce in the US is sold to third parties in markets such as Haiti, Mexico, or the same place in the US. The plan is for us to expand in those existing markets first."

The Jamaica Stock Exchange filing said the acquisition, if concluded, is expected to result in the doubling of Jamaica Broilers fertile egg-production output in the US.

Mr Levy told The Gleaner that the sale agreement was signed on 17 July and that he expected the deal to go through.