Preliminary voting figures indicate that the majority of JBS shareholders do not want brothers Wesley Batista and Joesley Batista on the board of the company.
In a notice published on the JBS investor relations webpage, it revealed that in advance of the company’s April 26 annual shareholder’s meeting, 390,158,521 votes have been cast regarding the brothers’ appointment to the company’s board of directors. They are the sons of JBS founder and namesake José Batista Sobrinho.
The notice revealed that 142,372,606 votes were cast in favor of naming Joesley to the board, but 247,785,915 voted against his appointment. Wesley received 142,626,940 votes in favor and 247,531,581 votes in opposition.
The notice is labeled “AEGM – Synthetic Voting Map – Bookkeeping Agent.”
Presently, Wesley and Joesley are significant shareholders in JBS. Previously, they held high-level leadership positions with the company. Wesley was the CEO of JBS and Joesley was the chairman. However, amid a corruption scandal, both stepped down from their leadership roles. However, both were acquitted of insider trading charges in 2023.
Because of the controversies surrounding the brothers, an advocacy group called Ban the Batistas formed in November 2023 when JBS announced its intent to list shares through an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The company is pursuing a joint listing on the NYSE and Brazil’s São Paulo Stock Exchange (B3). The group, as its name indicates, has been against naming either man to the board.
The group was encouraged by the preliminary vote.
“We understand this is preliminary ahead of the shareholder meeting this Friday, but it looks like a strong signal that even JBS’s shareholders won’t stand to put them back in power,” a spokesperson for Ban the Batistas wrote in an email.
While the odds appear to be against the brothers in gaining seats on the JBS board, both earlier in 2024 were named to the board of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, of which JBS owns the majority of shares.
Headquartered in Brazil, JBS is the world’s largest producer of poultry, having slaughtered 4.44 million broilers during the past year. Those figures include the capacity for Seara, Pilgrim’s Pride, Pilgrim’s Mexico and Moy Park.
