Sep. 30--Less than a week after warning investors that it might violate a requirement that could put it in default of its loan agreements, Pilgrim's Pride Corp. said Monday that it has reached a deal with its lenders for a temporary waiver.

The Pittsburg, Texas, company, the nation's largest chicken producer, said the waiver was good through Oct. 28. The lenders have agreed "to continue to provide liquidity" for the same 30-day period, the company said in a news release.

Lenders agreed to waive a "fixed-charge coverage ratio covenant," a measure of a company's profit compared with the interest payments it must make on its debt.

Pilgrim's Pride said Monday it has retained Bain Corporate Renewal Group, part of a Boston-based turnaround specialist, to "work with management on a range of strategic issues and operational improvement." The company also said it has hired investment bank Lazard Ltd. "to provide strategic advice regarding refinancing and recapitalization opportunities."

Pilgrim's Pride stock plummeted last week, falling 39.6 percent Thursday, after the company warned it would report a "significant loss" in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Saturday.

Despite Monday's reprieve, investors pushed the stock to a 52-week low of $2.50 early in the day before it rebounded to close at $2.79, down 21.4 percent from Friday's close. The stock has dropped 76 percent over the last week.

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