Family that founded egg empire pocketed $320M – Business News
The household that founded the most important egg producer within the US pocketed about $320 million from promoting half of its controlling stake in Cal-Maine Foods simply weeks after federal investigators started probing an alleged scheme to govern egg costs that despatched grocery payments hovering for thousands and thousands.
The Adams household, which managed Mississippi-based Cal-Maine for almost 70 years, cashed out close to the company’s all-time stock high after shares roughly doubled between mid-2022 and early 2025 as egg costs, earnings and the company’s market worth surged, in response to the Financial Times.
The sale got here after the Justice Department and 17 states alleged that Cal-Maine and rival egg producers coordinated bids and trades for almost three years to artificially inflate a key benchmark used to price billions of eggs bought to supermarkets, eating places and food-service corporations nationwide.
Federal prosecutors allege Cal-Maine and two rival egg producers coordinated bids to affect a key pricing benchmark used all through the industry. JJ Gouin – stock.adobe.com
According to company filings cited by the FT, the Adams household transformed its super-voting shares into common stock in April of final yr earlier than promoting almost 3 million shares by an offering led by Goldman Sachs at $92.75 per share.
Cal-Maine additionally agreed to repurchase about $50 million value of shares from relations, in response to company filings.
The household retained stock after the transaction, and former CEO Adolphus “Dolph” Baker, the son-in-law of the late company founder Fred Adams Jr. remained chairman.
The transactions occurred after Cal-Maine disclosed in an April 2025 SEC submitting that it had acquired a civil investigative demand from the Justice Department tied to a nationwide antitrust probe into egg costs.
Former Cal-Maine CEO Adolphus “Dolph” Baker remained chairman after members of the Adams household bought half of their stake within the company. Cal-Maine Foods
Federal prosecutors mentioned the company’s conduct stretched from June 2022 by March 2025, when executives at Cal-Maine, Versova and Hickman’s Egg Ranch allegedly coordinated bidding exercise to affect each day egg price quotations printed by Urner Barry, a benchmark extensively utilized in provide contracts throughout the industry.
Cal-Maine has denied wrongdoing, saying egg costs have been pushed by fowl flu and different market forces.
A proposed settlement, which requires court docket approval and accommodates no admission of legal responsibility, would require Cal-Maine, Versova and Hickman’s to donate 53 million eggs to food banks, pay $3.3 million to collaborating states and settle for restrictions on communications with opponents.
Fred R. Adams Jr. founded Cal-Maine Foods, which grew into the nation’s largest egg producer. Dignity Memorial
The criticism cited a collection of emails, textual content messages and telephone calls that prosecutors mentioned documented the scheme.
In October 2022, a Cal-Maine government allegedly texted Hickman’s CEO, “We are bidding up. Let’s hold it today.”
After Urner Barry stored costs unchanged, one other Cal-Maine government replied, “No change.”
Two months later, Hickman’s CEO urged executives at Cal-Maine and Versova to post robust bids “early and often” earlier than one other government wrote that “as a group we need to bid like they vote in Chicago, early and often,” in response to the criticism.
Egg costs surged to document highs during the period lined by the Justice Department’s antitrust criticism. Aleksandr Kolesnikov – stock.adobe.com
Prosecutors additionally alleged that executives generally positioned premium bids they by no means supposed to fill and organized non-public trades above market costs to affect the benchmark.
The alleged coordination continued into late 2024, when a former Cal-Maine CEO texted Hickman’s chief government, “Let it rip,” in response to prosecutors.
The corporations then elevated each the quantity of premium bids they submitted and the quantity left unfilled, prosecutors mentioned.
The Justice Department alleged that benchmark costs fell sharply after the businesses discovered of the federal investigation in March of final yr.
The Post has reached out to Cal-Maine Foods, Baker, the Adams household, Versova, Hickman’s Egg Ranch, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission for remark.
Goldman Sachs declined to remark.
