JBS S.A. has filed a request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to list shares of its new subsidiary JBS Food International (JBSFI), which is part of a global corporate restructuring process that the company first announced in May this year. On Monday, JBS announced that it was soliciting shareholders consent for the restructuring.
Under the new structure, JBSFI will have full ownership of all the company’s businesses, including the Brazilian food business Sear Alimentos, except for the the Brazilian beef business. Through a holding company, JBSFI will have a majority stake of up to 75 percent of the Brazilian business, with the remainder of shares floating on the Brazilian exchange.
JBS owns the Swift, Pilgrim’s Pride, and Moy Park brands. JPS last year paid $1.5 billion for the Northern Ireland poultry company Moy Park. The SEC filing outlines how the company plans to move JPSFI to Ireland and will list the Irish entity on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “JBS.” JBS said that the Irish company will be run from Hertfordshire in England.
After the reorganization, JBSFI will become the new holding company of the JBS Group and the existing shareholders of JBS SA will also become share holders of JBSFI. All shares in the Irish company are currently owned by Wesley Batista, the chief executive of the Brazilian group. In coming months, shareholders in the Brazilian-listed group will be issued shares in the Irish company following the asset transfer.
The global reorganization will “better reflect our global presence and diverse international operations by obtaining a NYSE listed for the JBS Foods International ordinary shares,” according to the SEC filing, “while improving access to international equity and debt capital markets.” The filing also stated that the reorganization will “enhance our ability to participate in the expected further consolidation of the global food industry and to better compete with other global food companies for international development opportunities.”
JBS Foods International sold products in approximately 190 countries on five continents, with at least 80 percent of gross revenue from sales generated outside of Brazil. JBS Foods International expects to complete the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2016 pending shareholder approval and other regulatory and legal conditions.
As of March 31, JBS Foods was one of the largest beef producers and exporters in the world in terms of capacity; one of the largest poultry producers in terms of capacity; pork producers in the United States and Brazil in terms of capacity; lamb and sheep producers and exporters in terms of capacity; and leather tanners in the world in terms of capacity.
