NEW YORK, Feb. 21 - Oleg Bakhmatyuk, the majority owner of Avangard, Ukraine’s largest producer and exporter of chicken eggs, will spend $24.9 million to acquire a poultry processing business in the United States.

Bakhmatyuk, through his investment vehicle Omtron Ltd., will acquire North Carolina operation of Townsends, Inc., a family-owned chicken and egg producer based in Georgetown, Delaware. The transaction, which also includes assumption of certain liabilities, is scheduled to close on Feb. 25.

“I’m very happy about this acquisition,” Bakhmatyuk said. “This is one of the biggest such operations in the U.S. and it will help us to further expand exports.”

The transaction marks the first time that a Ukrainian investor has acquired a major food processing business in the U.S., the world’s largest market. It also underscores Bakhmatyuk’s plans for aggressive international expansion.

Bakhmatyuk, 36, owns 77.5% stake in Avangard, a robustly growing food business that now dominates about 40% of Ukraine’s chicken egg market.

In 2003, Bakhmatyuk bought a bankrupt Soviet-era egg producer in western Ukraine for $1 million. Seven years later - at an IPO in London in April 2010 – investors valued Avangard at about $1 billion.

The global market for chicken eggs expanded sharply over the past decade reaching almost $84 billion in 2009, from $41 billion in 2000, according to data provided by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO.

The growth has been indicating changing consumer preferences, a rapid growth in fast food chains, high protein diet trends and reduction in shell egg cholesterol levels.

The demand for chicken eggs increased throughout the world, but most significantly in Asia, which enjoys the world’s fastest growing population.

“The egg is one of the cheapest proteins available to people and demand for it rises fast along with the growing population,” Bakhmatyuk said.

Avangard now operates 19 poultry farms in Ukraine with 18.9 million hens, and has an overall annual capacity of 5.2 billion eggs. The capacity is expected to increase to 6.8 billion eggs in 2012 after two new chicken farms are commissioned.

Avangard, which has been increasingly targeting international markets, such as Iraq and other Middle Eastern nations, planned to boost exports to about 3.4 billion eggs in 2012, from about 1.2 billion eggs in 2010. It has been also seeking to enter markets in Russia and the European Union.

Townsends on Feb. 17 received final approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to sell substantially all of its assets to Omtron Ltd. and to Peco Foods, Inc.

Omtron agreed to acquire Townsends’ North Carolina division, its corporate headquarters in Georgetown, Delaware and certain other assets for $24.9 million and the assumption of certain liabilities.

Peco Foods, a fully integrated poultry processing and packaging company with operations in Alabama and Mississippi, agreed to acquire Townsends’ Arkansas division for $51.4 million and the assumption of certain liabilities.

Townsends filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 19, 2010, listing about $131 million in assets and about $127 million in debt as of Dec. 5.

Townsends, founded in 1891, produces about 700 million pounds of poultry a year and 1.3 million eggs a week, and reported revenue at $504.2 million for the year ended Dec. 5, 2010. Its brands include Chef’s Select, Perfect Breast, Pristine Cuisine, Ruby Dragon, and Speedy Bird. (sb/ez)