Tyson Foods, Inc. TSN confirmed it will cooperate with a U.S. Justice Department investigation related to price-fixing, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday afternoon.
What Happened: Tyson received a grand-jury subpoena in mid-2019 and discovered some of its own employees were implicated in the alleged price-fixing scheme.
"Tyson took appropriate actions to address the internal issues and has been fully cooperating with the DOJ as part of its application for leniency under the DOJ's Corporate Leniency Program," Tyson said in a statement provided to WSJ.
Related Link: Pilgrim's Pride Falls After Chicken Companies Are Charged With Price Fixing
Why It's Important: Tyson's public confirmation of its cooperation in an investigation follows a prior report four chicken industry executives were indicted on price-fixing allegations, including Pilgrim's Pride PPC.
As part of the Justice Department's policy, the first company to self-report itself can avoid a criminal conviction, fines, or prison time for the cooperating employees, according to WSJ. But the cooperating company must acknowledge criminal violations that took place and cooperate fully with the department.
What's Next: The extent of Tyson's participation in the alleged price-fixing activity is not known. Tyson itself wasn't named in last week's indictment but sources close to the matter believe Tyson is the unnamed "Supplier-3" named in court papers.
Tyson's stock traded down 3.6% to $62.23 per share at time of publication.
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