JBS confirms purchase of salmon producer in Australia

JBS announced this Wednesday (3) that it has received final approval from the Federal Court of Australia for the purchase of Australian salmon producer Huon Aquaculture. The deal materializes the entrance of the slaughterhouse in the aquaculture sector.

Founded in 1986 as a family business and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2014, Huon owns marine salmon and trout farms in the states of Queensland and Tasmania. It currently employs more than 700 people, according to the company’s website.

JBS will acquire 100% of the shares of Huon on November 17, according to the statement to shareholders. The market value of the Australian company is over US$300 million (R$1.7 billion).

JBS had been facing opposition from some Huon shareholders, who were against the operation, but the outcome was positive for the company, assessed Sérgio Berruezo, research analyst at Ativa Investimentos.

At 1:36 pm, JBS shares (JBSS3) were down 0.65%. The drop, however, was not related to the acquisition of Huon, according to Berruezo.

“The meatpacking sector rose a lot even with the Brazilian stock market falling, as the performance of these companies is highly dependent on the United States, which is doing well, and the rising dollar helps even more cash generation!”, he says.

“What there is is normal profit taking at a time when the Brazilian stock market is down,” says Berruezo. “I consider the operation [de compra da Huon] positive.”

In the announcement of the signing of the purchase agreement, in August of this year, the global CEO of JBS, Gilberto Tomazoni, stated that the deal was a “strategic acquisition, which marks the entry of JBS into the aquaculture business,” he said.

“We will repeat what we did previously with chicken, pork and value-added products, to make our portfolio even more comprehensive,” said Tomazoni.