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Cal-Maine Foods has announced it will acquire Echo Lake Foods in a $258 million deal.

Founded in 1941 and based in Burlington, Wisconsin, Echo Lake Foods produces and distributes ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods such as waffles, pancakes, omelets and egg patties. The company reported $240 million in revenue for 2024, with a five-year compound annual growth rate of 10%.

The acquisition allows Cal-Maine Foods to expand into the value-added egg products market and strengthens its relationships with retail, quick service and foodservice customers.

Echo Lake Foods will operate as a standalone business under Cal-Maine’s umbrella, maintaining its four Midwest-based production facilities. Its CEO, Kathy Brodhagen, will join Cal-Maine’s senior management as president of Echo Lake Foods.

Cal-Maine Foods' president and chief executive officer, Sherman Miller, said: “This transaction represents an exciting growth opportunity and important inflection point for Cal-Maine Foods, advancing our strategy to expand and diversify our product portfolio and customer mix... The combined product lines and capabilities of the two companies are highly complementary and, importantly, we share similar values of pursuing operating excellence and meeting the needs of our customers."

"We believe the potential acquisition of Echo Lake Foods meets our disciplined set of investment criteria, including relevant geographic markets, operating synergies, product mix, proximity to customers and expected financial returns."

He continued: “The addition of Echo Lake Foods will supplement our other ready-to-eat egg product offerings, including hard-cooked eggs for retail, quick service restaurant and other foodservice needs from our expanded MeadowCreek Foods operation, and ready-to-eat egg products including egg wraps, protein pancakes, crepes and wrap-ups from our joint venture with Crepini Foods".

"Importantly, diversifying our product portfolio offers a strong, high-return potential that complements our existing organic growth opportunities. The Echo Lake Foods team has built a terrific business, and we look forward to working together on a successful integration and delivering on a unique opportunity for our customers and shareholders."

Brodhagen added: “We are excited to have the opportunity for Echo Lake Foods to join Cal-Maine Foods and continue to expand our market reach for quality ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods. This business combination will benefit everyone associated with Echo Lake Foods, especially our dedicated employees and valued customers... We are extremely proud to join their team, and we look forward to the significant growth opportunities ahead of us.”

The transaction, funded with cash, has been approved by both companies' boards of directors and is expected to close by the end of fiscal 2025, pending regulatory approvals.