The owner of Chobani, the company that pioneered the Greek
yogourt market in North America, is giving employees shares in the business.
For some, it could be worth more than $1 million.
About 2,000 employees of the upper New York state company
got the news this week. Each got an envelope indicating how many shares they
will get.
The longer they have worked for the company founded in 2005,
the more they will get when the company is either sold or goes public on the
stock market.
Owner Hamdi Ulukaya, an immigrant from Turkey, said he never
imagined the business would be so successful.
It has an estimated value of between $3 and $5 billion US.
At one point it planned to open a plant near Kingston, but
dropped those plans in the midst of marketing board politics and uncertainties.
Instead it built a $450-million plant in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Following Chobani’s success, other dairy processors have
launched their own Greek yogourt brands.
