JBS buys 50% stake in Italian processor
Not so long ago the trend was for ‘old economy’ companies to move production offshore and acquire businesses abroad. It appears that the tables have now turned as more and more businesses in the established production regions in America and Europe are being purchased by flourishing companies from ‘newer’ economies.
Having purchased US-based Swift in May this year, Brazilian meat processor JBS has now acquired a 50% stake in Italian beef processor Inalca, a unit of Cremonini SpA, for €225 million (about $330 million), including €300 million of debt.
The Italian company has a daily slaughter of 3,500 head and will increase JBS' slaughter capacity to 55,300 cattle at its production sites in Brazil, Australia, Argentina and Italy.
Despite some forecasting a fall in the global demand for beef, JBS reported revenues of $1 billion for the first 11 months of the year, up form $992,000 in the same period of 2006.
