Pilgrim's Pride today announced that we will be filing our proposed plan of reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. A link to the press release we issued this morning is provided below.
The most significant news is that the company has agreed to sell 64% of the new shares in the reorganized company to JBS S.A., through its subsidiary JBS U.S.A., for $800 million. Proceeds from the sale of stock to JBS will be used to pay back our creditors in full as part of the company's reorganization plan while preserving significant value for existing stockholders. All existing Pilgrim's Pride common stock will be cancelled and existing stockholders will receive 36% of new common stock of the reorganized Pilgrim's Pride. This transaction has the full support of our board of directors and the Pilgrim family.
JBS S.A., which is based on Sao Paulo, Brazil, is one of the largest beef and pork producers in the world. Their annual sales are over $20 billion, and they operate plants all over the world, including 16 facilities in the United States that are part of JBS U.S.A., their subsidiary based in Greeley, Colo.
If our plan of reorganization is approved by the Bankruptcy Court later this year, JBS will become the majority owner of Pilgrim's Pride. What does this mean to our company, our employees and growers? For most of our employees, growers and facilities, it will mean no significant changes. We expect to operate as a separate business unit from beef and pork under the JBS umbrella. We anticipate little impact on our plants, operations and sales organization. Our growers will continue to supply our plants, our plants will continue to operate and we'll continue to serve our customers. We do not anticipate any additional plant closures.
Over the past 10 months, we have fundamentally restructured Pilgrim's Pride as a market-driven company clearly focused on delivering the best service, selection and value to our customers as efficiently as possible. Thanks to the hard work and commitment of our growers and employees, Pilgrim's Pride is positioned to emerge from bankruptcy as a stronger, more efficient company.
We are truly excited about the strategic growth opportunities available with JBS as our majority shareholder. We are confident that our plan of reorganization will earn the support of all stakeholders and provide the foundation for sustained, profitable growth in the years ahead.
Thank you for your continued support of our company.
Sincerely,
Don Jackson
President and CEO