Darling International, a leading provider of rendering, recycling and recovery solutions to the nation's food industry has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the assets of Rothsay, a division of Maple Leaf Foods Inc. for approximately CAD $645 million in cash. Rothsay is the leading recycler of animal by-products in Canada and provides an essential service for the efficient and environmentally responsible collecting, processing and recapturing of edible and inedible by-products. Rothsay processes raw materials into finished products of fats and proteins. These finished products are sold in domestic and international markets including the United States, Europe, Mexico and South America. Rothsay also manufactures biodiesel for domestic and international markets.

Darling expects to finance the transaction through a combination of borrowings under a new Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility and Term A Bank Loan Facility which will be entered into in connection with the closing of the transaction. BMO Capital Markets Corp. served as financial advisor, K&L Gates and Bennett Jones served as legal counsel to Darling, and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC will lead the debt financing.

Rothsay has a network of five rendering plants in Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia and a biodiesel operation in Quebec, Canada.  Rothsay employs approximately 550 people and generated approximately CAD $85.0 million of EBITDA over each of the past two fiscal years. 

Closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including Canadian Competition Bureau review.    

Darling International Inc. is the largest and only publicly traded provider of rendering and bakery residuals recycling solutions to the nation's food industry.

Maple Leaf Foods is a leading Canadian value-added meat, meals and bakery company committed to delivering quality food products to consumers around the world.