March 9, 2012

JBS finalises Pilgrim's Pride rights offering

Brazilian meat packer JBS SA said Wednesday (Mar 7) it slightly increased its stake in US poultry processor Pilgrim's Pride Corp (PPC) as the latter company carried out a US$200 million capital increase.

Pilgrim's Pride, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 with JBS as its leading shareholder, issued 44.4 million shares Wednesday to improve capital position and to fund general operating requirements. JBS exercised its basic and oversubscription rights in the offering to raise its stake in Pilgrim's to 68% from 67.3%.

The subscription ratio reached 94% and the new shares will be issued and available from March 9, 2012, date of the annual shareholders meeting.

"We are pleased with the participation rate in our offering exercised by our stockholders. There were oversubscription requests of 60% more than the shares we issued, which we believe signals confidence in the strategy we have implemented," stated Bill Lovette, Pilgrim´s CEO.

JBS is the world's largest beef producer, and Pilgrim's Pride is the No. 2 poultry processor.

However, the US firm has been struggling financially, reporting losses in every quarter of last year and requiring loans and capital infusions from JBS.