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The world’s largest meat processor JBS said shareholders approved a plan to list its shares in New York, fulfilling a long-held desire of the Brazilian billionaire brothers who transformed their family slaughterhouse into a global colossus.
Minority shareholders on Friday approved a plan to transfer the $16.5bn group’s primary stock trading venue to the US, in the face of a fierce opposition campaign by governance and environmental advocates, according to a notice to investors.
JBS says the move will help increase the value of its shares, which trade at a discount to American rivals, while opening up cheaper sources of funding for expansion.
It marks a significant milestone for Wesley and Joesley Batista, whose holding entity J&F Investimentos owns close to half of the company.
The company’s rise in the early years of the 21st century mirrored Brazil’s emergence as an agribusiness powerhouse.
Founded in 1953 by their father, the brothers expanded JBS internationally through acquisitions. From its origins as a beef supplier, the company has expanded into poultry, pork, fish, plant-based alternatives and eggs. Its net sales were $77bn in 2024.
JBS shares rose 0.5 per cent in early afternoon trading on the São Paulo exchange on Friday. The stock has jumped more than 30 per cent since the start of the year.
J&F abstained from the vote as did JBS’s second-largest shareholder, Brazil’s state development bank BNDES, placing the decision in the hands of outside investors who own about one-third of the company’s equity.
JBS did not immediately provide a breakdown of the voting on Friday. On the eve of the shareholder meeting, early partial results showed a slim majority opposed the plans.
Proxy advisers had recommended a vote against the dual listing because of its potential to dilute shareholder power while further cementing the Batistas’ control.
Under the group’s new structure, a Netherlands-based company will issue class A and B shares, the latter with 10 times voting power but not traded on exchanges. Depending on which shareholders choose, the Batistas — whose equity stake is 48 per cent — could end up with as much as 85 per cent of voting rights.
“The result of the meeting demonstrates that shareholders are confident in the benefits generated by the dual listing and in the adequacy of the corporate structure,” said chief executive Gilberto Tomazoni.
JBS shares are due to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on June 12.
Daniel Biolsi, an analyst at research firm Hedgeye Risk Management, said approval of the dual listing was expected because shareholders want the stock to have a higher valuation. He added that JBS shares would probably still trade at a discount compared to US rivals Tyson, Hormel and Smithfield but that he expects it to narrow.
Environmentalists had also campaigned against the plans, citing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions from cattle ranching and its links to the Amazon.
“Giving JBS access to billions of dollars of new funding will serve only to supercharge deforestation and its climate-wrecking operations,” said Glenn Hurowitz, chief executive officer of Mighty Earth, an environmental advocacy group.
JBS said it bans the purchase of animals from farms with deforestation, forced labour or other questionable practices, with monitoring across its supply chains.
https://www.ft.com/content/45e71074-2023-4947-96b1-f50aae5673b1
