Lancaster based Pennfield Corporation finds another buyer for its mills.  The 93 year company supplies animal feed and other services over a multi-state region of the east coast.  It has 112 employees.  The company has suffered millions of dollars in annual losses for the past three years.  In October 2012, Pennfield filed voluntary chapter 11 bankruptcy and agreed to sell all three of its feed mills and other assets to Wellsource Facilities Holding for $15.6 million.  However the deal fell through when Wellsource failed to pay the agreed upon purchase price.  Pennfield then put itself back on the sale block.

Company officials disclosed last week that Cargill Inc, a privately held company based in Minneapolis, had offered to buy two of Pennfield’s three feed mills for $8.5 million. The mills are in Mount Joy and Martinsburg, Blair County.  A third mill in South Montrose, Susquehanna County is still up for sale.  Cargill also passed on acquiring Pennfield’s 165 acre farm in York County and a 3.1 acre Rohrerstown property.

The Cargill deal must be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District.  Other suitors could still step up with bigger bids. Pennfield has requested a court hearing on January 17 to decide the issue.

Cargill already has presence in the Lancaster County.  The company bought Lititz based Wilbur Chocolate in 1992 for $51 million.