JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, has agreed the purchase of Dutch-based Vivera, which is the third largest manufacturer of plant-based meat alternative products in Europe.

The €341m deal for the company that specialises in plant-based replica meat products involves three production facilities and a research centre in the Netherlands.

Vivera has markets for its products across 25 European countries and is a supplier to Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Waitrose in the UK.

JBS employs 250,000 people globally with 145,000 of these in Brazil

JBS has announced that the business will be managed as a standalone enterprise with the current management remaining in place. This acquisition is the latest venture by JBS into a plant-based protein business and will add to its ranges in Brazil and the US.

Although JBS originates in Brazil its expansion in meat processing across the world has led to it being the world’s largest meat processor with a turnover the equivalent of €40.7bn in 2020 with EBITDA of €11.5bn. JBS employs 250,000 people globally with 145,000 of these in Brazil.

This investment builds on the small but growing JBS portfolio of plant-based alternatives to meat

It owns the Moy Park poultry business, which is Northern Ireland’s largest private sector business and one of the top 15 food companies in the UK.

This investment builds on the small but growing JBS portfolio of plant-based alternatives to meat but meat remains the core product of the organisation’s business.

The company has been to the forefront of developing the growth of Brazilian beef and pigmeat exports to China in recent years and, in 2020, was a major exporter of pigmeat from the US to China.