Buyers lined up for Marfrig Global Foods‘ US-based chicken subsidiary Keystone Foods are said to be ready to make ”binding proposals” by the end of the month.

Brazil’s Marfrig is now the world’s second-largest beef processor following its acquisition of a 51% stake in National Beef Packing Company of Missouri, a deal for which it gained approval earlier this month for US$969m. 

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

Five buyers are potentially in the reckoning to purchase Keystone. Bloomberg reported in May that US meat giant Tyson Foods, agri-food heavyweight Cargill and Chinese conglomerate Fosun International had expressed an interest in purchasing the subsidiary, which supplies products from burgers to chicken nuggets to customers including McDonald’s.  

Now Reuters is adding China’s COFCO Meat Holdings and China Investment Corp. to the list.

Marfrig acquired Keystone eight years ago for $1.26bn and Reuters, quoting sources, says the deal from any of the potential buyers could go through for as much as $3bn.

See Also:

When Marfrig announced its plan to sell Keystone in April, the company said the funds raised would be used to pay off a $900m bridge loan taken out to partly finance the 51% stake in National Beef.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The National Beef transaction, plus the sale of Keystone, should help Marfrig achieve its goal of reaching a leverage ratio of 2.5 times by the end of 2018, the company said earlier. That ratio stood at 4.55 times at the end of 2017, and is projected to fall to 3.35 times once the National Beef deal is complete.

The Brazilian firm has engaged JPMorgan and Rabobank to oversee the Keystone disposal.