BNDES sells 50 million shares of JBS, in an operation of R$ 1.9 billion

BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development) sold more than 50 million shares of JBS on Wednesday (16) in an operation that totaled around R$1.9 billion, the director of Participações, Mercado de Participações, told Reuters. Capital and Indirect Credit of the bank, Bruno Laskowsky.

The shares were traded on B3 at R$37.52, a 3% discount compared to Tuesday’s close.

This was the second block for the sale of JBS shares by BNDES recently promoted. In the first operation, 70 million shares were sold and the share price was just over R$38.

“This difference is market behavior. The market is more complex this year. The discounts on other transactions were greater and our market is more unstable, “said the Executive.

He estimates that, even with the two sales, BNDES still maintains a position of around 19% in the meat company’s capital.

The director did not anticipate whether other sales of JBS will be made this year, but highlighted that the process of disinvesting the BNDES’ equity portfolio is still ongoing.

“We are very calm and are not pressing to sell,” he pointed out.

The bank’s idea, he said, is to reduce this volume and reallocate the funds raised in initiatives with greater social impact, which generate development and benefit more micro, small and medium-sized companies.

“This is the guideline for our market movement… we want to maximize our role as more than a development bank. We do not generate development with such a large portfolio of variable income”, he added.

At the beginning of the current government, the BNDES’ equity portfolio reached R$ 125 billion. Today, according to Laskowsky, it is approximately R$ 70 billion.