Latin American fresh beef exporter Minerva Foods has acquired 16 facilities in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile from Brazilian meatpacker Marfrig.
Out of the total, 11 cattle and lamb slaughter and deboning plants are located in Brazil, three in Uruguay, one in Argentina, and one in Chile.
The transaction, conducted through Minerva Foods’s subsidiary Athn Foods Holdings, also includes the purchase of equity in certain Uruguayan companies.
The deal is worth R$ 7.5 billion (€1.4 billion), with R$ 1.5 billion (€283 million) as a down payment and the remainder after receiving approval from Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE).
Minerva Foods has secured a firm financial commitment from JP Morgan Bank for the amount related to the remaining instalments.
Capacity Boost
The transaction will increase Minerva Foods's cattle slaughtering capacity by 44%, or by 13,000 head/day for cattle and 6,500 head/day for sheep.
Net revenue from the acquired plants, amounting to R$ 18 billion (€3.4 billion), will take the company’s total net revenue to over R$ 50 billion (€9.4 billion).
Both transactions are subject to approval by the respective antitrust authorities.
The acquisitions will complement Minerva Foods' operations as they include complementary assets. It will consolidate the company's position in the domestic market, making it the second-largest producer of beef in the region.
For Marfrig, the deal will enable it to consolidate its position as a multi-brand company with a higher value-added end product.
After the conclusion of the deal, Minerva Foods will have a total cattle slaughtering capacity of 42,439 heads/day, an increase of 43.7%, distributed across 40 plants in South America.
Additionally, the company's sheep operation will increase to 25,716 heads/day, distributed across five plants located in Australia and Chile.
