JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, continues to offload non-core assets in a bid to shore up its highly leveraged balance sheet.
In the last week, the Brazilian meat processor has confirmed the sale of its 19% stake in Vigor Alimentos, a dairy company based in Sao Paolo, to Mexico’s largest food company, Grupo Lala.
Under the terms of the deal, JBS said its 19% stake in Vigor Alimentos had been sold for $250m.
The remaining 81% majority shareholding in Vigor Alimentos was owned by J&F Investimentos, which is the company owned by the Batista brothers and the parent company of JBS.
J&F Investimentos said this week it had also sold its stake in the dairy company to Grupo Lala, which will assume full control of Vigor Alimentos, for an undisclosed price.
With this deal agreed for its 19% stake in Vigor Alimentos, JBS has now completed the sale of almost all of the non-core assets it announced it would sell back in June.
The company has received $300m from the sale of its beef processing businesses in South America (excluding Brazil) and an additional $40m for offloading its Canadian feedlot.
All that remains to be sold is its Five Rivers feedlot in Colorado and Northern Ireland poultry processor Moy Park, which no clear buyer has emerged for as yet. JBS aims to raise $1.8bn from the sale of all these non-core assets to reduce its $14bn in net debt.
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