Release Details

GREELEY, Colo., Jan. 3, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NYSE:PPC) announced today that it has set the terms for its previously announced rights offering.

Under the terms of the rights offering, Pilgrim's Pride will distribute, at no charge, to the holders of its common stock as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 17, 2012, one non-transferable subscription right for each share of Pilgrim's Pride common stock then owned. Each subscription right will entitle the holder to purchase 0.2072 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $4.50 per share. Pilgrim's Pride will not issue fractional shares. Fractional shares of common stock of Pilgrim's Pride which would result from the exercise of the rights will be eliminated by rounding up to the nearest whole share, with the total purchase price being adjusted accordingly.

The rights offering also includes an over-subscription privilege, which entitles a stockholder who exercises all of its basic subscription privilege in full the right to purchase additional shares of common stock that remain unsubscribed at the expiration of the rights offering, subject to the availability and pro rata allocation of shares among holders exercising this over-subscription right.

Pilgrim's Pride's majority stockholder, JBS USA Holdings, Inc., has committed to participate in the rights offering and exercise the basic subscription and over-subscription privilege in full and has executed an agreement reflecting its commitment. Pilgrim's Pride expects the gross proceeds of the offering to be approximately $200 million.

Pilgrim's Pride also announced that the mailing of offering materials to stockholders is expected to begin by 5:00 p.m., New York City time, January 19, 2012 and that the subscription period will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on February 17, 2012.

The shares issued in connection with the rights offering will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Pilgrim's Pride reserves the right to modify, extend, postpone or cancel the rights offering at any time prior to the closing of the sale of the shares in the offering.

Questions about the rights offering or request for additional copies of documents including the prospectus, may be directed to the information agent for the rights offering, Georgeson Inc., at 199 Water Street – 26th Floor, New York, New York 10038 or (800) 314-4549.

This announcement shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy the underlying shares of common stock of Pilgrim's Pride, nor shall there be any sale of these shares in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

About Pilgrim's Pride

Pilgrim's employs approximately 40,500 people and operates chicken processing plants and prepared-foods facilities in 12 states, Puerto Rico and Mexico. The Company's primary distribution is through retailers and foodservice distributors.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release that state the intentions, plans, hopes, beliefs, anticipations, expectations or predictions of the future of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation and its management are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that the actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements include: matters affecting the poultry industry generally; the ability to execute the Company's business plan to achieve desired cost savings and profitability; the ability of the Company to achieve the anticipated synergistic gains from the sale of its common stock to JBS USA Holdings, Inc; the ability of the Company to re-open its idled facilities in the manner and on the time schedule planned due to, among other things, the Company's dependence on commodity prices and economic conditions; future pricing for feed ingredients and the Company's products; additional outbreaks of avian influenza or other diseases, either in Pilgrim's Pride's flocks or elsewhere, affecting its ability to conduct its operations and/or demand for its poultry products; contamination of Pilgrim's Pride's products, which has previously and can in the future lead to product liability claims and product recalls; exposure to risks related to product liability, product recalls, property damage and injuries to persons, for which insurance coverage is expensive, limited and potentially inadequate; management of cash resources, particularly in light of Pilgrim's Pride's substantial leverage; restrictions imposed by, and as a result of, Pilgrim's Pride's substantial leverage; changes in laws or regulations affecting Pilgrim's Pride's operations or the application thereof; new immigration legislation or increased enforcement efforts in connection with existing immigration legislation that cause the costs of doing business to increase, cause Pilgrim's Pride to change the way in which it does business, or otherwise disrupt its operations; competitive factors and pricing pressures or the loss of one or more of Pilgrim's Pride's largest customers; currency exchange rate fluctuations, trade barriers, exchange controls, expropriation and other risks associated with foreign operations; disruptions in international markets and distribution channel, including exports into Russia, the anti-dumping proceeding in Ukraine and the anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceeding in China; and the impact of uncertainties of litigation as well as other risks described under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In addition, Pilgrim's Pride cannot assure that it will be successful in completing the rights offering on the terms outlined in this press release or otherwise.