Private equity investor Mason Wells, Milwaukee, said it completed two deals in December.

The Associated Press reported that Sara Lee Corp., Downers Grove, Ill., plans by March 30 to close a meat plant in Shannon, Miss.

Meat processors AdvancePierre Foods, Cincinnati, and Johnsonville Sausage, Sheboygan Falls, Wis., said they formed a strategic alliance that gives AdvancePierre exclusive foodservice distribution rights for Johnsonville Sausage products.

The nation's largest privately held packaged lunch meat processor, Land O' Frost, Inc., said it expects by the end of January to complete the purchase of Wimmer's Meats.

Sara Lee Corporation, Downers Grove, Ill., said it expects in 2013 to move its North American business headquarters -- with as many as 500 jobs -- to downtown Chicago.

A diverse holding company, Leucadia National Corporation, New York, N.Y., said it entered into a membership interest purchase agreement with National Beef Packing Company.

Dorada Foods hosted state and local officials at a formal dedication of its 180,000-square-foot chicken processing facility in Ponca City, Okla.

Canadian food giant Maple Leaf Foods, Toronto, announced significant changes in its prepared meats business to reduce operating costs and increase productivity.

Diversified foods processor Hormel Foods Corporation, Austin, Minn., said that effective October 31, 2011, it is naming Steven Binder to executive vice president and president of Hormel business units.