Sunland Inc. plant to be auctioned off

A New Mexico peanut-butter processing plant that went bankrupt after a salmonella outbreak shuttered its operations and prompted a nationwide recall last year is headed to the auction block. 

The reserve price for all bidders in Thursday's auction is $18.5 million. That's the amount California-based Ready Roast Nut Co. already has offered to buy the defunct Sunland Inc. plant. The sale seemed imminent when a bankruptcy trustee backed Ready Roast's offer. 

But the Clovis News Journal reports another potential buyer has emerged. A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has scheduled a hearing Friday to accept or reject the best bid in the auction. 

Sunland attorneys had valued the company's total assets at $50 million when it sought bankruptcy protection last fall. It owes its three major secured creditors about $14 million.

Information from The AP.

Sunland Inc. plant to be auctioned off