JBS S.A. completed the acquisition of Spanish company BioTech Foods, S.L. on May 5.
Controlled entity JBS Global Luxembourg S.à r.l. acquired the company as a first step into producing cultivated protein. BioTech Foods, headquartered in San Sebastián, Spain, is one of the global leaders in the development of biotechnology that produces cultivated protein.
Proceeds from the acquisition will go toward constructing a manufacturing plant which the company intends to be operational by 2024. The plant is expected to produce 1,000 tons of cultivated protein a year. The estimated investment into the new facility is US$41 million.
“The acquisitions mark the company’s entry into the cultivated protein market, which consists of the production of food from animal cells, which are aligned with JBS´s strategy of expanding its platform of new forms of protein production, as a reflection of new consumption trends and population growth in the coming decades,” Investor Relations Officer Guilherme Perboyre Cavalcanti said in a press release May 9.
JBS also announced it will be constructing the JBS Biotech Innovation Center in Florianópolis, Brazil. The center will be a research, development and innovation center which will focus on biotechnology and cultivated protein. The investment into the new center is estimated to be US$60 million.
Acquiring BioTech is part of JBS’s sustainability goal to have net zero carbon emissions by 2024. Other sustainability initiatives JBS has undertaken include transitioning to biodiesel and organomineral fertilizer, using solar energy and incorporating specialized food additives that reduce bovine emissions.
JBS has also been acquiring other companies the past few years to expand its portfolio and global reach including Australian pork producer, Rivalea Holdings, and Dutch plant-based protein company Vivera.
According to WATTPoultry.com’s World’s Top Poultry Companies, JBS S.A. is No. 1 with 4.4 million heads slaughtered annually.
