Cal-Maine Foods Inc. has reached a definitive agreement to purchase the remaining 50% membership interest in Red River Valley Egg Farm LLC from Rose Acre Farms Inc. The entity will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. The purchase price is $48.5 million for the balance of the joint venture’s membership interests.

Red River Valley Egg Farm owns and operates a specialty shell egg production complex with approximately 1.7 million laying hens, pullet capacity, feed mill, processing plant, related offices and outbuildings and related equipment located on approximately 400 acres near Bogata, Texas. The company expects to close the transaction by the end of the month, subject to customary closing conditions.

“We have enjoyed a good working relationship with Rose Acre Farms since we formed this partnership and are pleased to assume full ownership of Red River Valley Egg Farm. When it commenced operations in 2015, Red River Valley Egg Farm significantly increased the availability of cage-free and other specialty eggs to meet the growing consumer demand for those products, and we look forward to continuing to support our valued customers in this important region,” said Dolph Baker, chairman and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine Foods.

He continued, “Red River Valley Egg Farm’s experienced management team will remain in place and be integrated into Cal-Maine’s already deep roots in Texas. We believe this transaction will offer us additional opportunities to expand our production capacity and to meet the anticipated growing demand for cage-free and specialty eggs.”

Cal-Maine Foods is primarily engaged in the production, grading, packing and sale of fresh shell eggs, including conventional, cage-free, organic and nutritionally enhanced eggs. The company, which is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, is the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the United States and sells the majority of its shell eggs in states across the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.