Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has announced that it has received early antitrust clearance from the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice for the company's previously announced stock purchase agreement with JBS USA Holdings, Inc. (JBS USA), a subsidiary of JBS SA.

Last month, Pilgrim's Pride and six of its subsidiaries (the Debtors) filed a joint plan of reorganisation and related disclosure statement with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. Under the terms of the joint plan of reorganisation, Pilgrim's Pride has entered into an agreement to sell 64 per cent of the new common stock of the reorganized Pilgrim's Pride to JBS USA for $800 million in cash.

Pilgrim's Pride said that it anticipates the plan to be confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court in time for the Debtors to emerge from bankruptcy before the end of December.

As previously announced, the Debtors filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on December 1, 2008. The Chapter 11 cases are being jointly administered under case number 08-45664. The company's operations in Mexico and certain operations in the United States were not included in the filing and continue to operate as usual outside of the Chapter 11 process.