A West Midlands food manufacturer has been acquired by a US group in a deal which values the company at £290 million.
Tulip, which is headquartered on Warwick Technology Park, has been acquired by Pilgrim's Pride from Danish Crown, the global meat processing group based in Randers, northern Denmark.
Tulip has annual turnover of about £1 billion and employees more than 6,000 people.
It provides a wide range of meat products to the retail and foodservice sectors and operates from 12 production facilities throughout the UK.
Pilgrim's Pride is based in Colorado and operates chicken processing and prepared-foods facilities in the US, UK and Europe, employing more than 51,000 people.
The transaction makes Pilgrim's Pride one of Europe's leading sector companies, creating one of the largest integrated prepared-foods businesses in the UK with a portfolio of brands and retail private label solutions.
Under the terms of the buyout, Danish Crown will continue to supply Danish pork to Tulip as part of a long-term supply agreement.
Tulip's chief executive Andrew Cracknell said: "Pilgrim's is acquiring an industry-leading farming operation, a strong team of dedicated people and a network of well-invested manufacturing sites.
"Our companies share a rich heritage in agriculture and food production with aligned values that put people and customers at the heart of all we do.
"The Tulip leadership team and I look forward to working with our new colleagues to build upon the fantastic progress made within the business and realise our combined growth opportunities as we enter an exciting new phase."
Pilgrim's Pride chief executive Jayson Penn added: "We are pleased to strengthen our European foods platform with the acquisition of Tulip which positions Pilgrim's as a leading global prepared foods player."
