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Swift hires to look into financial alternatives, including saleGREELEY, Colo. (AP)--Swift & Co. announced Jan. 22 that it has hired JPMorgan to look into financial alternatives for the company, including a possible sale. The move follows a series of unsolicited inquiries over the past six months from a variety of strategic and financial third parties, as well as robust capital market conditions, the company said in a statement. The privately held Greeley-based company said it might also consider a merger, partnership, refinancing or public equity offering. No decision has been made, said the statement, which did not include details. Sean McHugh, spokesman for the company, did not immediately return a call. "Swift is an excellent company with very significant value, growth and earnings potential. As such, we will not pursue any transaction that does not fully reflect and realize the value of Swift," said Edward Herring, a director of Swift & Co. Swift's board of directors includes representatives of HM Capital Partners LLC, Swift's majority shareholder, and its investment partner, Booth Creek Management Corp. Herring said HM Capital and Booth Creek believe the Swift President and CEO Sam Rovit have done a good job during a difficult time. "We are confident that the team is fully focused on Swift's operations and will continue to deliver strong performance during this process," Herring said. Swift & Co. calls itself the world's second-largest processor of fresh beef and pork with more than $9 billion in annual sales. The company's announcement did not mention last month's raids at its plants in six states that resulted in the arrests of nearly 1,300 employees on immigration charges. The company has said it checks the legal status of its workers through a federal program that allows them to check the validity of Social Security numbers. Swift in mid-January announced the layoff of 58 employees at its corporate offices and other cost-cutting steps to improve its competitive edge. The layoffs represented about 10 percent of Swift's corporate staff. B 6 1/29/07 1 Star WK Date: 1/25/07
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