Managers at Glanbia's meats division are negotiating a buyout of the business in a deal that could be worth between €40 million and €50 million.

A company statement said talks which may lead to the sale of the meats division were consistent with Glanbia's stated objective of focusing investment on key growth areas: cheese, food ingredients, nutrition and selected consumer foods. It is understood that discussions are well advanced.

The management buyout (MBO) team is led by meats division chief executive Jim Hanley, and includes three other senior managers - operations manager Niall Leydon, human resources manager Michael Slevin and Andy Fleming, finance and strategy manager.

Glanbia Meats is the largest pork slaughterer and pig processor in Ireland. It operates four facilities, including two modern slaughtering plants at Roscrea, Co Tipperary, and Edenderry, Co Offaly.

In 2004 the company invested €27 million in these two facilities. However, the Edenderry plant was partially destroyed by fire in August 2007.

The company operates the only pork head-boning facility in Ireland at Clara, Co Offaly, and a curing and processing facility at Jamestown, Co Leitrim.

It also runs six pig farms housing 4,500 sows, and employs 850 people who last year processed 1.2 million animals or 48.7 per cent of the national pig supply.

Industry sources said the severe damage to the Edenderry plant made it more difficult to price the deal, as did the current state of the Irish pig industry which is worth €250 million annually.

However, one analyst suggested Glanbia's meat operation would be making profits in the region of €5 million a year.