Brazil’s BRF to acquire Saudi food processing plant

Brazilian meat processor BRF has agreed to acquire Saudi Arabia’s Joody Al Sharqiya food production company from Hungry Bunny and other local firms.

The $8m deal was executed by BRF subsidiary Badi.

The move comes nearly seven months after BRF announced plans to invest nearly $120m to develop and operate a chicken processing plant in Saudi Arabia and further bolster its presence in the country.

According to local publications, Joody Al Sharqiya owns a plant in Dammam with an annual production capacity of 3,600t.

Commenting on the deal, BRF chief financial and investor relations officer Carlos Alberto Bezerra de Moura was quoted as saying: “BRF plans to invest around $7.2m in the Dammam plant in order to expand its current installed capacity from 3,600tpa to 18,000tpa, further increasing the presence of BRF in the Saudi market, in line with its strategy of establishing local production and further expansion of its high value-added product portfolio.”

The completion of the deal is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Meanwhile, BRF reported a net loss of R$38m ($6.63m) in the first quarter of this year. In the same three-month period last year, the company registered a net loss of R$1bn ($174m).

The company attributed the reduction in net losses to higher sales, Reuters reported citing a securities filing.

The company has also increased its net revenue by 21% to nearly R$9bn ($1.57bn) and sales volume by 8% to 1.1Mt.