Niman Ranch to merge with Chicago investor

Niman Ranch will still be putting out "all natural" and "raised with care" meat, but its days as an independent company are over. The Alameda company is announcing today that it's merging with its chief investor, Chicago's Natural Food Holdings LLC. It was that or go out of business altogether. Financial and other details were not immediately available, but in a statement I received Wednesday afternoon, Jeff Tripician, Niman Ranch's executive vice president said the deal "will provide our company with a significantly stronger balance sheet and the liquidity to grow and expand our business." In its close to 40-year history, Niman Ranch, originally founded in Bolinas by Bill Niman, built a reputation for its high-quality meat produced by a network of small farmers and ranchers who shared Niman Ranch's commitment to humane and sustainable methods of animal rearing. But the company never turned a profit. In fact, it's been up to its eyeballs in debt and defaulting on loans. Without the merger, its cash would have run out completely by the end of next week....