Troubled Brazilian meatpacker JBS has put Northern Ireland-based poultry processor Moy Park up for sale, as part of a wider plan to strengthen its financial position through net debt reduction.
JBS’s programme of divestment reportedly aims at raising about R$6 billion (£1.4 billion) to help it cut debt and shrink leverage.
The decision follows news that JBS’s holding company, J&F Investimentos, has agreed to pay record fines of R$10.3 billion ($3.13 billion) over 25 years as part of a plea bargain deal, after a series of corruption investigations over allegations of bribery involving politicians.
The Brazilian firm had bought Moy Park in 2015 for $1.5 billion (£1.2 billion), which had then marked Northern Ireland’s biggest ever food deal.
Moy Park’s chief executive, Janet McCollum, pointed out that the firm’s priority remains “business as usual” and added: “Moy Park is a successful and growing food business with a solid financial standing. I have no doubt that our success is due to the great strengths of this business – our exceptional people, innovation and performance.
“I also know that this will ensure our continued growth and stability well into the future.”
JBS is also selling its US-based unit Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, while earlier this month the group had announced it was selling its subsidiaries in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Moy Park had announced at the beginning of the year that a £4 million investment in its Ashbourne facilities had enabled the site to produce one million chickens per week.
The investment programme had boosted production at the site by a third, according to the firm.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
