HONOLULU — An anticipated sale of Hawaii’s oldest and largest milk processor fell through and the company expects to close its Honolulu operation, despite a tentative deal with another buyer, official said.
Dean Foods Co., the parent company of Meadow Gold, announced Monday that a pending sale would not proceed and the company plans to shutter its main dairy processing and distribution operation on Oahu on April 30, which will affect 216 employees.
A new buyer has agreed to purchase and continue operating a Meadow Gold processing facility in Hilo on Hawaii island, Dean Foods Co. spokeswoman Anne Divjak said.
Dean Foods did not disclose the buyer or the terms of the proposed agreement Tuesday.
The deal includes distribution facilities on the Big Island, Maui and Kauai with a combined 71 employees, Divjak said.
Dean Foods expects the supply of Meadow Gold products, including milk, butter, ice cream and juices, should continue throughout the state to stores, restaurants and other customers even though its biggest Hawaii facility will close.
Dallas-based Dean Foods filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in November 2019.
The tentative agreement, which requires the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, includes the Meadow Gold Hawaii brand name, assets and intellectual property.
Dean Foods announced April 1 that it had reached an agreement in principal for a sale to Los Angeles-based Industrial Realty Group LLC.
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Texas approved the $25.5 million deal April 6 after Industrial Realty made a $2.7 million deposit.
“This was a difficult decision but, ultimately, given the timeline of our Chapter 11 restructuring we were not able to find a path forward that would enable our Honolulu operations to continue through our comprehensive court-supervised sale process,” Dean Foods President and CEO Eric Beringause said in a statement.
