Private equity firm BGH Capital has agreed to purchase a majority stake in Australian poultry company Hazeldene’s.

Details of the planned transaction have not been released, other than the fact that the Hazeldene family intends to retain some shares of the company. The deal is expected to be finalized in a few weeks.

Mark Heintz, CEO of Hazeldene’s, issued the following statement to ABC Rural: "When we embarked on this process, we were determined to achieve five key principles — what was best for the staff, our valued customers, our significant farming operations, our community and a seamless transition of shareholders. "It's pleasing to announce that we have been able to strongly achieve these outcomes."

Headquartered in Lockwood, Australia, Hazeldene’s history dates back to 1938. According to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, it is a fully integrated poultry company that slaughtered 35.3 million broilers during the past year. The company has one hatchery and one poultry plant, which has the capacity to process nearly 1 million birds on a weekly basis.

The company’s breeders produce hundreds of thousands of eggs weekly. Chicks are raised on company-owned and contracted farms. 

Hazeldene’s ranks as the fifth largest poultry company in Australia and the sixth largest in Oceana. An estimated 915 people are employed by Hazeldene’s.

The company idled operations at its poultry plant for “a number of days” in 2020, but workers there were vaccinated at a mobile clinic earlier this year in hopes of avoiding another temporary poultry plant shutdown.

BGH Capital, according to the company’s website, was established in 2017 by Robin Bishop, Ben Gray and Simon Harle with the objective of creating the pre-eminent private equity firm in Australia and New Zealand. BGH is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, and is an independent firm, which is owned and managed by its founding partners.

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