Canada's Competition Bureau has approved two mergers in the domestic hog industry, where producers are struggling to cope with heavy losses caused by higher feed prices.The bureau said on Monday it would let Maple Leaf Foods Inc purchase hog producer Puratone Corp for C$42 million ($43 million) as well as allow Olymel LP to buy Blue Sky, Canada's second-largest hog producer, out of receivership for C$65.25 million."In both investigations, the bureau concluded that the mergers were unlikely to lead to a substantial lessening or prevention of competition," it said in a statement.Soaring grain costs caused by a severe U.S. drought mean North American hog farmers are losing as much as C$50 for every pig they raise, forcing some to exit the industry. Packers are concerned about finding enough pigs to slaughter.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a meat, meals and bakery company. Shares of MFI traded higher by 0.6% or $0.07/share to $11.67. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $9.88 and as high as $13.00. On average, 102666 shares of MFI.TO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 14028.
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