• Email this story
• Print this story
• Comment on this story

Don Tyson, former senior chairman of Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc., sold 1.41 million company shares, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission posted late Thursday.

The most recent transactions by the Tyson Limited Partnership occurred June 13, 14, and 15 with a cumulative market value of $20.83 million. Included in the partnership's last filing, Don Tyson personally sold 766,724 shares worth $11.27 million.

The Tyson Limited Partnership owns 85.43 million shares of Class B stock convertible into Class A shares on a one-for-one basis. Don Tyson controls 46.93 million shares and still retains a voting majority.

On May 26, Don Tyson, general partner -- who controls approximately a 54 percent majority interest in the Tyson Limited Partnership with the partnership holding the majoring voting interest in Tyson Foods -- announced the sale of 5 million shares valued at $80.53 million. Those sales were completed on June 2. The retired senior chairman of the board said the share sales were part of the partnership's desire for diversification. On June 9, a subsequent federal filing stated "the partnership presently anticipates making additional dispositions of company stock into the open market in a continued effort to further diversify."

Also on June 9, Tyson released the terms to sell another 7 million shares in response to forward pricing contracts with Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase Bank. The contracts will mature next month.

To date, the partnership has sold 5.21 million Tyson Foods' shares valued at $101.34 million. Of that, 3.48 million shares at a value of $55.67 million belonged to Don Tyson.