BREAKING! Soglowek's Bid For Agriprocessors In Conjunction With Unnamed "Long Time US Partner"

Details:

Soglowek to bid for biggest US kosher meat company
Israeli meat products manufacturer said to be one of dozen companies bidding in tender to buy Agro Processors that recently went into receivership
Navit Zomer, Ynet

Israel's Soglowek Industries announced that it intends on bidding for the controlling interest in Agro Processors, the largest kosher meat manufacturer in the United States.

Agro Processors' turnover in 2008 came to $300 million, mostly derived from sales in the ultra-Orthodox market in the US. Nevertheless, the company has recently encountered some financial difficulties, and has gone into receivership, hence the sale.

So far, 12 companies have entered bids in the Agro Processors tender.

Soglowek has reportedly employed a special team in the US, performing financial due diligence on Agro Processors. The final offers for the company have to be handed in by March.

Should Soglowek be the one to win the tender, this would be a significant breakthrough into the US market for the Israeli company.

The move is being spearheaded by the company's CEO Eli Soglowek. "We are in the early, financial due diligence phase of the Agro Processors deal. We intend to pursue it along with a long-time US partner of the company, who will be providing some of the financial backing.

"Soglowek will soon be naming an official pointman for the project, who will be seeing it through… Should we win the bid, we intend on expanding the company's portfolio to go beyond the haredi market," he added.

Soglowek produces a wide range of meat products, frozen baked goods, meat substitutes and vegetarian products, with annual turnover around $175 million.

Put simply, Agriprocessors trustee Joseph Sarachek should immediately reveal the name of this US partner. Postville has the right to know, and we all have the right to make sure that partner is not Rubashkin-related.

Photo: Eli Soglowek.

[Hat Tip: State of the Jews.]

Comments

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

I took a look at the court documents filed by the receiver:
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/files/soglowek-offer-to-buy-agriprocessors-and-related-court-filings.pdf
and see it does not list the name of any joint venture, only the name of Soglowek. Unless Soglowek wants to sell part of its company to its "long term partner", I don't understand the statements of the CEO. Maybe he is using this news story for advertising rather than paying for an ad reading: "Partner Wanted for USA Joint Venture." This may not sit well with the bankruptcy judge or any prosecutors who may be willing to drop demands for fines to be paid.

Maybe they are putting together a joint venture if they think someone will outbid them at $40 million. It also should not be hard to guess who the US partner is. One possibility is their existing importer and distributor in New York City. The only other possibilities are US food producers that export food to Israel for processing by Soglowek. I'm not in the food business, so have no idea who they could be.

[Sarg]

The long term U.S. partner could be Rubaskin himself. All that laundered money went somewhere, what a sweet set-up. Buying back the plant for a fraction, using laundered money.

[Shmarya]

I took a look at the court documents filed by the receiver:
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/files/soglowek-offer-to-buy-agriprocessors-and-related-court-filings.pdf
and see it does not list the name of any joint venture, only the name of Soglowek.

I suspect the long-term partner is Agriprocessors South or one of its sister companies, owned by aaron Rubashkin but in his daughter Gittel's name.

At any rate, the court filing should be voided if there is an unnamed partner.

If Sarachek knew about the partner before the filing, Sarachek should be immediately removed as trustee.

[state of disgust]

Perhaps Twin City Poultry - just a thought. They may have the $ themselves, or may serve as a back door for Aaron's money.

[s]

possibly all the money made by their share of the profit from visas sold in China for $30,000 each for Chinese to come to the U.S. "to work at Agriprocessors" could help them be a partner. The UNI (Cedar Falls) professor who let his name be used in newspaper articles about bringing Chinese to work in Postville is supposedly writing a book about Postville. Would be interesting to read why he ever let his name be used in that.

[neighbor girl]

I downloaded the above mentioned document describing the offer to buy Agri. I tried to wade through 56 pages of legal language. I noticed that at purchase, the property must be "free and clear of all liens and encumbrances". Does that mean all creditors and the government must agree to the sale? That could be difficult. The bidder must sign a disclosure statement "setting forth connections with any creditors and parties-in-interest". Does this disqualify members of the Rubashkin family? The problem will be investigating these statements for truth.

[Shmarya]

The problem will be investigating these statements for truth.

Sarachek told me he was not planning on investigating. He was just going to rely on the signed statement.