June 15/Middle East and North Africa Financial Network -- Brazilian meat packer Marfrig Foods has reached an agreement to buy major U.S. distributor Keystone Foods for $1.26 billion, AP reported.

Keystone, which says it pioneered the development of the boneless chicken nugget, serves more than 28,000 restaurants in 13 countries and last year had revenue of $6.4 billion from its food and distribution business.

Marfrig said in a statement that it would buy 100% of Keystone's shares. It said that adding the resources and management of Keystone would enable it to expand its operations and better meet the opportunities for growth in the global food market.

From the June 16, 2010, Prepared Foods' Daily News
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