Troubled Tri Valley Wins Loan Approval

San Ramon-based Tri Valley Growers, one of the country’s largest canneries, received approval from an Oakland bankruptcy judge for a $270-million loan that will allow it to continue operating this season. Tri Valley’s ability to pay its growers and process their crops was called into question after the cooperative filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. Of the $270 million from the Bank of America loan, $169 million will be used to pay off a pre-bankruptcy loan and $101 million will be used to process this year’s crop of tomatoes, pears and peaches, a spokesman said. The co-op will process about half its typical volume and employ about 9,000 of its 11,500 employees this season. By servicing its existing contracts this season, officials hope to find a buyer that will keep its plants in operation.