Golden Boy bids $26 million for Sunland

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A Canadian company has won the bidding for an eastern New Mexico peanut butter plant that went bankrupt following a 2012 salmonella outbreak and nationwide recall.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Thuma is expected Wednesday afternoon to approve the sale of the defunct Sunland Inc. in Portales to Golden Boy Foods for $26 million.

The sale price is more than 25 percent higher than the $20 million offered by Hampton Farms of North Carolina in an auction last week.

At the request of a bankruptcy trustee, Thuma ordered a second auction Wednesday morning after Golden Boy on Friday offered $25 million in cash. Hampton Farms increased its offer to $25.1 million, but Golden Boy won with a new bid of $26 million.

A Hampton Farms official says the company is disappointed by the outcome.