JBS has made a fresh move for full control of US majority-owned subsidiary Pilgrim’s Pride, four years after abandoning a previous bid.
In a statement yesterday (18 August), the Brazilian meatpacker said it submitted a “non-binding” proposal to the Pilgrim’s Pride board to acquire the company’s remaining shares.
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The proposal would give Pilgrim’s Pride investors 2.086 JBS Class A shares for each share they own, valuing the offer at $28.49 per share.
If completed, the deal would see Pilgrim’s Pride removed from the Nasdaq stock exchange.
JBS first took control of Pilgrim’s Pride in 2009, when it bought a 64% stake for $800m after the US poultry producer entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the previous year.
The company now owns around 82% of Greeley, Colorado-based Pilgrim’s Pride through JBS USA, its US unit.
The meat giant had sought full ownership in 2021 but withdrew the approach a year later.
JBS said the acquisition would create a “simplified” organisational structure.
According to the company, the change would remove Pilgrim’s standalone public company costs, leading to “more flexible and efficient” capital allocation across the group.
The proposal is subject to review by a special committee of independent directors and also requires approval from a majority of votes cast by unaffiliated PPC shareholders, in addition to customary closing conditions.
Pilgrim’s Pride owns brands including Pilgrim’s Chicken, Just Bare, Gold’n Plump and Moy Park.
The business supplies markets globally through production facilities in the US, the UK, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Europe.
The renewed takeover push comes during a busy month for both JBS and Pilgrim’s.
Earlier this week, Pilgrim’s Europe, which is part of Pilgrim’s Pride, agreed to buy UK company Walkers Deli & Sausage Company from Samworth Brothers.
Last week, JBS elevated Wesley Batista Filho to group CEO, returning top leadership to the controlling family shareholders.
Filho, the grandson of founder José Batista Sobrinho and the son of former CEO Wesley Batista, will leave his current post as CEO of JBS USA to assume the new position in January.
Meanwhile, CEO Gilberto Tomazoni will step down and move into the role of vice chairman of the JBS board.
Separately, earlier this month, the meat giant, through JBS USA, formed a joint venture with Indonesia’s sovereign-wealth fund to “pursue investment opportunities” in protein production, with focus on Indonesia and the wider South East Asia region, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
