Oct 4, 2006 10:21 AM, from staff and wire reports

Carolina Turkeys has finalized the purchase of Butterball Turkey from ConAgra Foods Inc for $325 million.

This acquisition repositions Mt Olive NC-based Carolina Turkeys as a leading national turkey producer. The expanded company expects production to reach 1.4 billion pounds in 2006, or 20% of total turkey production in the United States. Effective Oct 2, 2006, Carolina Turkeys’ company name has changed to Butterball LLC.

Besides the Butterball brand, Carolina Turkeys has acquired five processing plants in Huntsville AR, Ozark AR, Jonesboro AR, Carthage MO, and Longmont CO. These plants combined have more than 3,200 employees, though no layoffs are expected as a result of the acquisition.

Established in 1986, Carolina Turkeys is a joint venture of Smithfield Foods Inc and Maxwell Farms Inc, an affiliate of the Goldsboro Milling Co.