Tyson-Keystone deal gets Brazilian shareholder approval

Tyson Foods’ proposed acquisition of Keystone Foods from Marfrig Global Foods has cleared another hurdle, as it has been given the approval from key Brazilian shareholder BNDESPAR.

Roy Graber Headshot
(Tyson Foods)
(Tyson Foods)

Tyson Foods’ proposed acquisition of Keystone Foods from Marfrig Global Foods has cleared another hurdle, as it has been given the approval from key Brazilian shareholder BNDESPAR.

BNDESPAR is the investment arm of Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social -BNDES. The firm specializes in direct and fund of funds investments. 

The news of the approval was shared via a notice to the market posted on the Marfrig Global Foods website.

Last week, the Brazil-based Marfrig announced that the pending transaction has been given approval from the U.S. antitrust regulator.

At this point, according to Marfrig’s notice, approval from the antitrust authorities in Asia still has to be granted in order for the transaction to close.

In August, Tyson Foods announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase Keystone Foods, the tenth largest broiler company in the United States, from Marfrig Global Foods, for $2.16 billion in cash. Under the agreement, Tyson would acquire six Keystone Foods processing plants and an innovation center in the United States, as well as eight plants and three innovation centers in China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. The U.S. facilities are located in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

At the time the pending acquisition was announced, Tyson Foods stated that it expected the deal to close in the middle of fiscal year 2019. Tyson’s fiscal years typically end on the Saturday closest to September 30, according to the company website.

Marfrig Global Foods announced in April its decision to divest of Keystone Foods to leverage its acquisition of the U.S. business, National Beef Packing Company, and also to allow the company to more fully concentrate on its beef operations. The National Beef transaction closed on June 6.

Tyson Foods is the largest broiler company in the United States, while Keystone Foods is the tenth, according to the WATT PoultryUSA Top Poultry Companies survey.

In June, Tyson Foods acquired Tecumseh Poultry. In other merger and acquisition news concerning the U.S. poultry industry, George’s Inc. in September announced its intent to acquire Ozark Mountain Poultry (OMP).

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