In another sign of the tough environment for liquid milk, Borden Dairy Co. has filed for bankruptcy.
Borden, the second-largest American milk processor, said in its Jan. 6 Chapter 11 filing that it incurred $42.4 million in losses in 2019 and $14.6 million in 2018. The company says it intends to remain in business during the bankruptcy process but did not indicate what its long-term plans might be.
Borden is the second major milk processor to file for bankruptcy in two months, following the Nov. 12 filing by industry leader Dean Foods. Borden’s CEO said in a statement that the company was squeezed between rising prices for wholesale milk due to a decline in the number of dairy farmers, and low retail prices due to falling consumption rates for liquid milk.
Borden Dairy has been owned by private equity firm Acon Investments LLC since 2017. The Borden brand, represented by the advertising icon Elsie the cow, was bought by Mexican company Lala Dairy, which renamed its American operations Borden in 2011. In 2013, Lala spun off its Borden division into a private company called Laguna Dairy SA de CV.
