Aug 23, 2007 9:21 AM

Hormel Foods Corp has purchased privately held Burke Corp, a manufacturer and marketer of pizza toppings and other fully cooked meat products, for approximately $110 million. Austin MN-based meat producer Hormel anticipates annual net sales of $125 million, and expects the deal to be accretive to its fiscal 2008 earnings.

Burke Corp’s products are primarily for restaurants, foodservice establishments, and manufacturers of frozen entrees and appetizers. Product lines include traditional pizza meat toppings, meatballs, Mexican meat fillings, and breakfast meats. It operates its main facility in Nevada IA and another in Ames IA. These facilities increase Hormel’s production capabilities of fully cooked meat products and pizza toppings.

Established in 1974 by William J Burke Sr, Burke Corp has 239,000 square feet of production capacity. As part of Hormel’s Refrigerated Foods business segment, it will continue to be run by Bill Burke Jr.