PILGRIM’S PRIDE has said it will pay $75m to settle claims brought by a group of poultry buyers that accused it of violating antitrust law.
Tyson Foods has also agreed-in-principle to pay an undisclosed sum following a similar claim.
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Neither business admitted liability, saying that settling was in their best interests.
Both settlements will now need to be approved by a federal judge, according to Reuters.
The companies, which are the two largest broiler producers in America, had been accused of conspiring to inflate the price of chicken.
Settlement
The Pilgrim’s Pride settlement is the largest in a long-running series of litigation against poultry firms around antitrust law.
The firm also agreed a $110.5m fine in October last year to resolve a US Department of Justice criminal price-fixing probe.
The DoJ has also filed criminal price-fixing and bid-rigging charges against ten poultry industry executives – all of whom have pleaded not guilty.
