Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has announced that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas has approved the amended joint plan of reorganisation of the Company and six of its subsidiaries that are debtors and debtors in possession (the Debtors) in the Chapter 11 cases pending before the court.

Following a court hearing held on 8 December in Fort Worth, Judge D. Michael Lynn entered an order confirming the amended plan of reorganisation, paving the way for the Debtors to exit bankruptcy later this month. Pilgrim's Pride said that it expects to emerge from bankruptcy before the end of December.

After the court hearing, president and chief executive officer, Don Jackson, said: "This is a proud day for everyone at Pilgrim's Pride who has worked so hard over the past year to restructure our business. The past 12 months have been filled with tremendous challenges and unprecedented opportunities. There have been a lot of tough, painful decisions made about the future of this company, yet our employees have joined together to create a new market-driven organization that is clearly focused on serving our customers."

In September, the Debtors filed a joint plan of reorganization and related disclosure statement with the court. Under terms of the joint plan of reorganization, Pilgrim's Pride has entered into an agreement to sell 64 per cent of the new common stock of the reorganised Pilgrim's Pride to JBS U.S.A. for $800 million in cash. The completion of the transaction is subject to the closing of an exit facility for senior secured financing in an aggregate principal amount of up to $1.75 billion, certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.