HARRISBURG, Pa. — A federal bankruptcy judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has approved the sale of Harrisburg Dairies, Inc. for $4.95 million, marking the next step in the aftermath of the fluid milk processor’s abrupt shutdown after 94 years of operation.

According to the April 17 sale order, the buyer Patanjali Dairy USA LLC acquired 14 parcels on the Herr Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania property, including personal property, supplies, milk processing equipment and machinery, and business computers and software, as well as intellectual property and rights to the Harrisburg Dairies name.

While Patanjali Dairy USA LLC is listed as a New Jersey company in the sale agreement, it shares its name with the widely-distributed Patanjali Foods brand in India, a publicly-traded consumer goods company associated with Patanjali Global with significant business in seed oil extraction, edible oils, bakery fats, textured soya, packaged foods and wellness products, including whey protein, nutriceuticals, and cosmetics. Dairy is one segment of the Patanjali Foods portfolio and consists of UHT milk and cultured products like yogurt, buttermilk, paneer (soft cheese), and ghee (clarified butter).

The transaction comes nearly six months after Harrisburg Dairies closed its doors in October 2025 with five remaining producers shipping milk after ending contracts with seven last summer.

At the time of the shutdown, producers were owed $901,139 for milk already delivered, according to the Pennsylvania Milk Board. The PMB milk security system covered 81% of those losses, leaving a portion unpaid. The Federal Milk Market Administrator is also owed $255,648, according to bankruptcy court documents.

Court filings show the company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 20, 2025, listing approximately $4.6 million in assets against $3.6 million in liabilities.

According to the court’s sale order, the assets transfer to the buyer “free and clear of all liens, claims, encumbrances, and other interests,” with any such claims attaching instead to the sale proceeds. The order further provides that holders of claims against the debtor are “forever barred, estopped, and permanently enjoined” from asserting those claims against the purchaser or the acquired assets.

Remaining balances owed to dairy producers and other supplies and service providers are unsecured claims and would be paid, if any funds remain after the court-ordered payments of $4 million to secured creditors.

The $4.95 million purchase price is in line with the asset values listed in bankruptcy filings, indicating the transaction reflects the value of physical assets rather than a premium tied to ongoing business operations.