NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) April 18, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Cargill Inc.'s (A+/Negative/A-1) announcement of its acquisition of Guelph, Ont., Canada–based Better Beef Ltd. will not have an effect on the ratings and outlook. Although live Canadian cattle is still not allowed to be imported into U.S. for slaughter since the May 2003 outbreak of mad cow in Canada, some boxed beef has been allowed to be imported into the U.S. since mid-2004. Standard&Poor's expects that the acquisition will augment Cargill's current beef packing operations in Canada. The purchase price was not publicly disclosed.
