Judge approves sale of Pure Prairie Poultry plant
Facility goes to creditor bank and ex-board member through credit bid deal
USA – The shuttered Pure Prairie Poultry (PPP) processing facility in Charles City, Iowa, has been sold following court approval earlier this month.
Community Bank and Trust, which had served as a creditor to PPP, and Michael Helgeson, a former member of the company’s board, acquired the plant and additional assets.
The sale was authorized after both parties submitted credit bids, opting to forgo repayment of outstanding debts in exchange for ownership of the facility.
A Texas-based company had previously submitted a purchase offer of US$6 million (USD), but Community Bank and Trust and Helgeson instead bid against their combined US$27.8 million (USD) claims.
The bank’s portion of the credit bid totaled US$25.7 million (USD), while Helgeson’s share was US$2.1 million (USD), effectively matching the total owed to them by the now-defunct poultry business.
When asked by local news outlet KAAL about future plans for the property, the bank declined to disclose any details.
Pure Prairie Poultry entered the market in 2021 by acquiring the Charles City plant, which had remained idle since 2019 after its previous owner, Simply Essentials, ceased operations.
At the time of the purchase, the company’s leadership team included individuals with experience at GNP Company, a firm that had been taken over by The Maschhoffs in 2013 and later by Pilgrim’s Pride in 2017.
Although not confirmed, it is believed that Michael Helgeson is the same individual who led GNP Company as CEO for over two decades and chaired the National Chicken Council in 2013–2014.
Bankruptcy and financial decline
Pure Prairie Poultry received funding in 2023 through a USDA loan to refurbish and enlarge the plant.
However, within a year, the company was unable to maintain operations and filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2024.
Court documents revealed that PPP owed debts ranging between US$100 million and US$500 million (USD) to hundreds of creditors, despite possessing assets valued between US$50 million and US$100 million (USD).
The company also announced it could no longer sustain the more than two million chickens being raised by around 50 contract farmers in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
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