The NORTH's largest business Moy Park has been put up for sale by its Brazilian owners.
The Tyrone poultry giant, which employs more than 9,000 people in Northern Ireland is on the market once again as part of wider plans from owners JBS S.A. to raise over £4.5 billion to reduce overall company debt.
The divestment programme further includes the sale of operations in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Food group JBS, one of the largest in the world, bought Moy Park from another Brazilian company back in 2015 in a deal worth £988 million.
Given the growth of the business in the subsequent two years it is expected that Moy Park will attract offers well in excess of £1 billion.
Moy Park chief executive Janet McCollum said she was confident about the company's long-term future despite the uncertainty and added it was "business as usual".
"Moy Park is a successful and growing food business with a solid financial standing. I have no doubt that our success is due to the great strengths of this business – our exceptional people, innovation and performance. I also know that this will ensure our continued growth and stability well into the future.
"Our priority remains business as usual – delivering outstanding quality, innovation and service to our customers and consumers.”
Founded in Moygashel in 1943 Moy Park has grown into is one of the UK’s top 10 food companies, Northern Ireland’s largest private sector business and one of Europe’s leading poultry producers.
In the north the firm has production sites in Dungannon and Ballymena in addition to a processing site in Craigavon. With as many as 37 million Moy Park chickens on farms at any given time it is estimated that 5.5 million fresh chickens are processed a week at the leading poultry supplier.
