Brazil’s JBS nets Huon Aquaculture for share value of $425m

JBS Australia CEO Brent Eastwood says ‘the Huon brand is widely recognised for its premium Tasmanian salmon product offering’. Picture: Huon Aquaculture

Brazilian meat processing giant JBS has agreed to buy Huon Aquaculture for $425 million.

The deal equates to $3.85 per share or a total value of $546m including debt.

JBS is one of the largest meat processing companies in the world and is known to have been looking at two acquisition targets in Australia.

It recently purchased pork producer Riverlea for $175m.

JBS owns Primo smallgoods, which it purchased in 2014 for $1.45bn from Affinity Equity Partners and Paul Lederer, and has since been expanding the Primo business to include other branded convenience snackfood products.

Globally, it has a major presence in beef, lamb, protein and has also other investments in salmon.

In March, it announced its Seara meat, pork, and poultry brand was expanding into seafood, offering fish, salmon, mussels, squid rings and shrimp.

Huon announced on February 26 that it had launched a strategic review after receiving approaches for the business.

Working on the strategic review is Grant Samuel and Ashurst.

Huon, which currently has a market value of about $300m and a share price of $2.79, has been offering due diligence to a select group of interested parties to determine whether they were able to come up with an offer.

It comes after Huon has faced pressure from the global pandemic, with its share price plunging last year from about $4.50.

DataRoom revealed the interest from JBS last month.

“Huon is at the forefront of sustainable salmon production cycle practices,” said JBS Australia CEO Brent Eastwood.

“Like JBS, it has a strong focus on animal welfare and environmental sustainability across its entire value chain. The Huon brand is widely recognised for its premium Tasmanian salmon product offering, which is enjoyed by consumers in Australia and around the world.”