JBS to acquire cultivated meat company BioTech Foods

JBS has signed an agreement to acquire BioTech Foods, a Spanish cultivated protein company.

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(Benjamín Ruiz)
(Benjamín Ruiz)

JBS has signed an agreement to acquire BioTech Foods, a Spanish cultivated protein company.

The acquisition marks the company’s first foray into the cultivated meat market and includes a $41 million investment to construct a new plant in Spain to scale up production. 

JBS will also implement the first Center for Research and Development in biotechnology and cultivated proteins in Brazil, according to a Notice to the Market from JBS.

In total, JBS plans to invest $100 million in the two initiatives. JBS did not respond to a WATTPoultry.com request for comment.

Under the terms of the transaction, subject to confirmation from Spain’s foreign direct investment authorities, JBS will become the majority stakeholder of BioTech Foods.

Growing market for cultivated proteins

BioTech Foods, founded in 2017, specializes in the development of biotechnology to produce cultivated protein, such as hamburgers, sausages and meatballs. The biotechnology company expects to reach commercial production by 2024.

Cultivated meat is created with real animal cells that are grown in a stainless-steel tank known as a bioreactor, resulting in a product that resembles chicken, beef, pork and other meats. 

The meat alternative isn’t available on the market yet in most of the world – in large part due to the high cost of manufacturing -- although Eat Just Inc. received regulatory approval to sell its lab-grown chicken nuggets commercially within the city-state of Singapore in December 2020.

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.

Earlier this year, JBS purchased European plant-based protein company Vivera. Vivera offers products in more than 25 countries, with relevant market share in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany. Included in the acquisition are three production facilities and a research and development center, all located in the Netherlands.

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