A bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of an eastern New Mexico peanut butter plant that went bankrupt following a 2012 salmonella outbreak to a Canadian company.
Golden Boy Foods Ltd. is buying the defunct Sunland Inc. plant in Portales for $26 million. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Thuma approved the sale Wednesday.
The sale price is more than 25 percent greater than the $20 million offered by Hampton Farms of North Carolina in an auction last week.
At the request of a bankruptcy trustee, Thuma ordered a second auction Wednesday morning after Golden Boy offered $25 million in cash Friday. Hampton Farms increased its offer to $25.1 million, but Golden Boy won with a new bid of $26 million.
A Hampton Farms official says the company is disappointed.
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