Wisconsin Company Bids for Idled Northern Beef Packers Plant

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A Green Bay, Wisconsin-based beef processing company has submitted the minimum $12.75 million bid for an idled South Dakota plant.

American Foods Group's bid for Northern Beef Packers allows it to become a qualified bidder in an auction scheduled for today at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Sioux Falls.

Wednesday's bid is the first submitted for the upcoming auction. An investment banking firm working with Northern Beef, White Oak Global Advisors, is automatically deemed a qualified bidder.

Northern Beef opened on a limited basis in 2012 after years of delays. Its owners filed for bankruptcy protection in July and laid off most employees because the company lacked money to buy cattle for slaughter.

American Foods Group's website says the company ships more than 4 million pounds of beef a day.

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