03:34 PM EST - Maple Leaf Foods : reports that it secured $500 million in the sale of its animal nutrition business to a Netherlands-based company, Maple Leaf's chief financial officer said Tuesday. Nutreco Holding NV has snapped up the animal feed division as part of internal revamp designed to move the company out of meat processing and into the North American feed business. That kind of buyer was exactly what Maple Leaf was looking for in its plan to exit the feed industry as part of "Project Renaissance," an approach designed to bring new life to the ailing Toronto-based firm. "We're two very similar companies moving in different directions strategically, and it was a very happy confluence that we were doing it at the same time," CFO Michael Vels said in an interview. "They were in meat processing as well, but (they) sold their meat processing and other related business to focus on animal nutrition." Maple Leaf Animal Nutrition is an independent operating company of Maple Leaf Foods with sales of about $650 million and 2006 earnings before interest and taxes of about $47 million. Maple Leaf Foods
shares MFI:CA are trading up fifteen cents at $16.75.
