JBS-Friboi becomes meat global leader
Folha de S. Paulo
The JBS-Friboi group announced yesterday the incorporation of Bertin S.A. and the purchase of Pilgrim's Pride, one of the leaders in the poultry market in the USA. With the acquisitions, JBS S.A., which was already the first in the worldwide ranking in the sale of beef, gained the global leadership in animal protein - including poultry and pork. It excelled the American Tyson Foods.
The new JBS S.A. will be controlled by a holding in which nearly 60% of the shares will belong to the Batista and Bertin families.
Of this control block, 60% of the papers will stay with the Batista family and 40%, with Bertin's. Calculations made by Reuters indicate the stock swap imply a deal of nearly R$ 5.2 billion. The JBS stock closed yesterday with valuation of 8.8% - the highest of Bovespa. In earnings, the company becomes the third largest open capital company in the country, behind Petrobras and Vale. The credit risk rating agency Standard & Poor's attributed it a B+ grade with a positive "CreditWatch". Before that, it was B+/negative.
The other 40% of the new JBS S.A. will belong to the market, including the BNDES participation. The State bank will stay with 22.4% of the new company. The institution has been essential in the Government strategy to support the formation of large national groups for operation overseas as well. The meat sector in the country is in consolidation. On Monday, the Marfrig group announced the purchase of Seara by for R$ 1.6 billion (US$ 888.9 million). In May, Perdigão and Sadia merged into Brasil Foods. Folha asked Marfrig and BRF to comment the announcement made by JBS, but it had no answer.
The annual income of the new JBS-Bertin is estimated at nearly US$ 30 billion. The company, worldwide, has daily processing capacity for 90.4 thousand bovines, 48.5 thousand pigs, 7.2 million birds, 19.5 small size animals (sheep and goats), 148.5 square meters of leather and 1,266 tons of dairy products. In Brazil, the daily slaughtering capacity of JBS achieves 43.4 thousand heads of cattle. Marfrig, second in the national ranking, slaughters, worldwide, no more than 21.3 thousand heads. The Mato Grosso State Association of Animal Raisers estimates that, in the State, JBS will control nearly 50% of the slaughtering. The regulating agencies will have to authorize the deal.