JBS has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Australian pork company Rivalea Holdings from QAF Limited, a Singapore-based food company.
Also included in the deal was the acquisition of 100% of Oxdale Dairy Enterprise, also from QAF. The transaction is valued at AU$175 million (US$135 million).
According to a notice to the market from JBS, the acquisition of Rivalea will allow JBS to increase its product diversification in Australia, and will increase the volumes of value-added products using pork within the Primo business. It is also expected to present new opportunities for domestic and export sales of pork.
Rivalea, according to the notice, is a market leader in hog breeding and processing in Australia, accounting for about 26% of the hogs processed in Australia.
“With the acquisition of Rivalea, JBS becomes a leader in pork processing in Australia. We will add important brands to our portfolio to create strong conditions to accelerate the growth of the value-added and branded businesses in the country, in addition to strengthening our export platform,” said JBS Global CEO Gilberto Tomazoni.
Brent Eastwood, CEO of JBS Australia, added: “With total annual sales of circa AU$400 million, an EBITDA of AU$37 million, two facilities and more than a thousand employees, Rivalea already has sustainability as the focus of its business strategy. The company sells well-known Australian consumer brands such as Riverview Farms, Family Chef and St. Bernard's that will strengthen our presence with consumers and customers.”
The notice did not provide further information regarding the purchase of Oxdale Diary Enterprise, however, a notice on the QAF website stated that the company chose to divest of its Australian operations, referred to as the Primary Production Business, so it could focus on its bakery, distribution and warehousing segments in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
“The strategic sale of the Primary Production business is being pursued as such business is in the animal protein segment, which is very different from the bakery and distribution and warehousing businesses, and operates in a different geographical region. Following nearly 20 years of ownership by the group, the Primary Production business is now an ideal platform and has reached the necessary scale for a new owner with a strong focus on the animal protein segment to bring it to its next growth phase and take the business to the next level,” QAF stated.
JBS made the announcement less than two weeks after it became the victim of a cybersecurity attack, which prompted the temporary idling of some JBS facilities, including its beef and lamb processing facilities in Australia.
According to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, JBS is the world’s largest protein supplier and the second largest food company. It also ranks first globally as a poultry producer, having slaughtered 4.04 billion broilers during the past year.
