Tyson Foods, Inc. announced it has reached a definitive agreement to buy the Keystone Foods business from Marfrig Global Foods for $2.16 billion in cash. The acquisition of Keystone, a major supplier to the growing global foodservice industry, is Tyson Foods’ latest investment in furtherance of its growth strategy and expansion of its value-added protein capabilities.

Headquartered in West Chester, Penn., Keystone supplies chicken, beef, fish and pork to some of the world’s leading quick-service restaurant chains, as well as retail and convenience store channels. Its value-added product portfolio includes chicken nuggets, wings and tenders; beef patties; and breaded fish fillets.

The acquisition includes six processing plants and an innovation center in the US with locations in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. (It does not include the beef patty processing plant in Ohio.) It also includes eight plants and three innovation centers in China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia.

Keystone, which employs approximately 11,000 people, generated annual revenue of $2.5 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of $211 million in the last 12 months ending June 30, 2018, excluding non-controlling interest and other adjustments1. During the same period, the company generated approximately 65%of its revenue from US-based production and the remaining 35% from its Asia Pacific plants.