Global Eggs completes its second acquisition in the USA: Pearl Valley Farms, a benchmark in specialty eggs
The egg multinational GLOBAL EGGS, founded by Ricardo Faria, the owner of Granja Faria in Brazil, continues to build its presence in the global egg market, absorbing a family farm in the USA with 2 million birds and eight niche brands — less than four months after a series of acquisitions in Uruguay, less than a year after acquiring the fourth-largest egg producer in the USA, and barely eighteen months after acquiring HEVO GROUP in Spain.
I believe it is important to highlight the fact that GLOBAL EGGS, which owns HEVO GROUP in Spain, Granja Faria in Brazil, and Hillandale Farms and Pearl Valley Farms in the USA, has de facto become the world’s first truly multinational egg production company, with a solid presence in North America, South America (Brazil and Uruguay) and Europe. There are other larger egg producers, but they have virtually all their production and demand concentrated in a single country (primarily the USA, Mexico, China and Thailand).
Federico Castelló
Who is Pearl Valley Farms
This is no ordinary company in the US egg market. Pearl Valley Farms is, in many respects, the archetype of what global financial capital is looking for in laying poultry today: a second-generation family business with vertical integration, specialisation in high added-value products, and a circular economy model.
Founded in 1987 by Dave Thompson, an Illinois primary school teacher who began raising chicks so that his pupils could observe the life cycle of chickens, the company grew steadily over nearly four decades. From an initial flock of 200,000 birds, it has grown to a census of approximately 2 million laying hens, with production, packing and distribution facilities at its headquarters in Pearl City, Illinois.
“Global Eggs absorbs Pearl Valley Farms: a family farm with nearly 40 years of history and eight niche brands join the world’s largest egg production group.”
The company has a portfolio of eight brands that covers virtually every segment of the US egg market:
- premium free-range eggs under the Phil’s Fresh Eggs® brand,
- certified organic eggs,
- conventional eggs,
- liquid egg products for foodservice under Eggology®,
- and the full range of organic fertilisers under Healthy Grow®, Coop Poop® and Chickity Doo Doo®, targeting both professional farmers and retail gardening consumers.
The group’s estimated annual turnover is approximately 43 million dollars. In terms of its industry ranking: Pearl Valley Farms is listed among the 50 largest egg producers in the USA according to the annual reports published by Egg Industry/WATT Global Media, with particular leadership in the specialty egg and organic egg categories at retail level.
The deal: Global Eggs acquires the Thompson family business
The transaction was announced on 2 April 2026. Global Eggs is acquiring the entirety of Pearl Valley Farms Inc. from the Thompson family, who have owned the company since its founding. The seller’s exclusive financial adviser was D.A. Davidson & Co., one of the US investment banks specialising in the agri-food sector.
The financial terms of the transaction have not been made public. The acquisition is pending formal closing, subject to the customary conditions for this type of transaction.
“With Pearl Valley, Global Eggs is not simply adding 2 million birds: it is adding eight brands already established in American retail. Building them from scratch would have taken decades.”
The deal carries a dual strategic significance. On one hand, it reinforces the footprint of Hillandale Farms — Global Eggs’ North American subsidiary acquired in 2025 for 1.1 billion dollars — with a complementary operator.
Whereas its first US acquisition (Hillandale, May 2025) brought in a high-volume player with conventional production and cage-free systems, this second acquisition (Pearl Valley, April 2026) contributes a profile specialised in premium niche and organic products and the circular economy, while also adding eight retail brands already established in the leading US retail chains — expanding the group’s commercial reach without the need to build them from scratch.
Key transaction figures
| Acquired company | Pearl Valley Farms (Pearl City, Illinois, USA) |
| Founded | 1987 by the Thompson family (2nd generation) |
| Flock size | ~2 million laying hens |
| Brand portfolio | 8 brands: Phil’s Fresh Eggs®, Eggology®, Pearl Valley Eggs®, Coop Poop®, Healthy Grow®, among others |
| Business model | Vertical integration: conventional, free-range, organic, cage-free eggs, liquid egg products and organic fertiliser |
| Seller’s financial adviser | D.A. Davidson & Co. (exclusive adviser) |
| Buyer | Global Eggs (headquartered in Luxembourg) |
| Transaction status | Pending closing (subject to customary conditions) |
| Price | Undisclosed |
The financial firepower behind the expansion
This acquisition cannot be understood without looking at the bigger picture of the Global Eggs project and the capital backing it. In barely two years, Ricardo Castellar de Faria — the Brazilian entrepreneur known as the ‘Egg King’ — has built one of the world’s largest poultry groups at a pace that is unprecedented in the sector.
The group’s financial backing rests on three pillars:
- Warburg Pincus (Capital Solutions Founders Fund): up to 1 billion dollars invested in March 2026, with the group valued at 8 billion dollars.
- BTG Pactual (private equity arm of Brazil’s largest investment bank): 300 million dollars in exchange for an 11% stake in the group, injected at the time of the Hillandale Farms acquisition in 2025.
- Rabobank and Itaú BBA: additional structured financing for the group’s corporate debt.
“Warburg Pincus provided the firepower. Hillandale delivered the scale. Pearl Valley brings the premium niche. This is how the world’s first truly multinational egg company is being built in record time.”
In the laying poultry sector, access to institutional capital of this magnitude is not simply a competitive advantage: it represents a change of category altogether. It enables the acquisition of active businesses and entry into established egg markets at a speed that no local operator could sustain on its own.
Global Eggs’ worldwide expansion: from Granja Faria to “Rey do Ovo” in Brazil, from Dagu and Ous Roig to HEVO GROUP in Spain, and from Hillandale to Pearl Valley in the USA
Although in May 2025 the company declared that its global growth strategy was focused primarily on Europe, the US egg market is no minor battleground for Global Eggs.
With the acquisition of Hillandale Farms in 2025, the group instantly entered the ranks of the five largest producers in the country. Pearl Valley Farms adds scale in the specialty segment and complements retail distribution.
nnnnGlobal Eggs Acquisitions in the U.S. (2025–2026)
nnnn| Company | Year | Million hens (approx.) | Notes |
| Hillandale Farms | 2025 | ~18.75 M | 4th largest egg producer in the U.S.; paid USD 1.1 billion |
| Pearl Valley Farms | 2026 | ~2 M | Organic eggs, specialty eggs, organic fertiliser |
The strategy of accumulating assets in the U.S. follows a clear logic: it is the world’s largest egg market by value, with historically high prices over the past two years due to the impact of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Having geographically diversified production within the country itself reduces exposure to localised outbreaks and allows volumes to be redistributed between facilities.
nnnnnnnnnnnnn«The question is no longer whether Global Eggs will keep acquiring assets. The question is whether any European or American operator will have the financial capacity to compete with it in the next acquisition.»
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What 5 lessons does the creation of the first egg multinational leave us?
nnnnIn my opinion, these are the five conclusions — or trends I have observed — following this mega-operation. Today the protagonist is Global Eggs, but tomorrow it could be anyone else: JBS, MHP, Agotzaina or even José Elías. Every professional in the egg sector should take note.
nnnn1. Poultry is the “King Protein”
Major capital already recognises the strength and reliability of our industry. Both eggs and poultry meat are consolidating as the global reference proteins, thanks to their efficiency and productive stability.
2. The adopted model: global capital and local talent
The formula combining top-level investment with an operator with an entrepreneurial DNA and deep sector knowledge is exactly what the poultry industry has been seeking for years. Global Eggs has achieved it, paving the way for future alliances.
3. Transparency and professional management
Every producer, whether they have 10,000 or one million laying hens, must know their accounts and balance sheets perfectly. No “A, B or C accounts”. Never say “this doesn’t affect me”; opportunities arrive when least expected. If a company — poultry-related or not — shows interest in participating in or acquiring your business, it will only look at the official, auditable figures. Everything else simply does not exist.
4. Brand and territorial connection
Differentiation means positioning yourself, building a brand and maintaining closeness with the consumer. In eggs, our advantage is freshness and proximity. Consumers prefer local, recognisable brands over imported products or long supply chains. I doubt that Global Eggs’ objective is to produce in the U.S. to sell in Europe or vice versa; its focus seems to be something else: consolidating strong brands with history and good managers, creating global synergies from a local base.
5. Integration in the laying sector is advancing
Managing a global flock of laying hens comparable to that of all of Spain allows for an unparalleled scale of efficiency: raw material purchasing, equipment, vaccines, logistics, digital infrastructure and poultry health. Integration — in its various degrees and models — will be key in the future. Every professional poultry farmer should consider it, whether as an active participant integrating others or as a passive participant forming part of a larger project.
In either case, being part of the new “integrator” models for the laying sector that will emerge is just as dignified and valid a “modus vivendi” in poultry farming as continuing with full autonomy running a medium or small laying hen farm.
There is no better or worse model, only different ambitions and life goals. In this article we have simply wanted to highlight the fact that we are witnessing the creation of the first egg multinational and that this is a trend — more will follow — of which any poultry professional should be aware.
Federico Castelló
Founder of NeXusAvicultura.com
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To find out more:
This acquisition is the latest episode in a series of significant purchases and acquisitions in poultry farming that NeXusAvicultura.com has been reporting on:
-. When Global Eggs landed in Spain by acquiring Hevo Group, the country’s second largest egg producer, we covered it here: Brazil’s ‘Egg King’ buys Hevo Group, Spain’s second largest egg producer
-. When Warburg Pincus injected USD 1 billion valuing the group at USD 8 billion, we analysed the implications for the sector: Eggs consolidate as a universal strategic asset: Global Eggs receives USD 1 billion from one of the world’s largest institutional investors
-. And when the ‘Egg King’ made Europe his strategic priority: “Our priority is Europe”, declares the ‘Egg King’
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