Tyson Foods to acquire 40% stake in Brazilian firm GrupoVibra

US-based meat producer Tyson Foods has reached an agreement with Brazilian poultry products company Grupo Vibra (Vibra Foods) to acquire a 40% stake in its food division.

Financial details of the deal have not been divulged.

Tyson Foods group international president and chief administration officer Donnie King said: “This investment will enable us to access poultry supplies in Brazil to meet the growing needs of Brazilian customers and of priority demand markets in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

“It’s part of our strategy to develop a more flexible supply chain and mitigate the volatility of our previous model, which relied primarily on US exports.”

Headquartered in Montenegro, South of Brazil, GrupoVibra has been in the poultry business for more than five decades and is engaged in production and commercialisation of chicken protein through its Nat and Avia brands.

Its facilities include hatcheries, slaughterhouses, farms, feed factories and laboratories.

GrupoVibra CEO Gerson Luís Müller said: “Tyson will add know-how and new business opportunities to speed up our growth.

“This partnership will be important to further develop our businesses in Brazil and foreign markets, granting access to new technologies and investments mainly in R&D. We will capitalise on a global distribution network to reach new markets.

“We trust that this agreement will strongly contribute to improve the quality of our services, adding new products to our portfolio offered to clients and consumers.”

As per the terms of the agreement, GrupoVibra has agreed to spin-off Agrogen, its genetics multiplication business, into a separate business entity.

Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by Brazilian regulators.

The acquisition is part of the company’s global growth strategy.

Upon completion of the deal, Tyson Foods will have further access to key global markets.

Through international sales, Tyson Foods currently generates $7bn annually. Of this amount, $5bn is generated from US export sales and about $2bn through in-country sales.

In June, Tyson Foods completed the acquisition of BRF’s Thai and European businesses for $340m.

As part of the deal, Tyson Foods acquired four production facilities in Thailand, as well as one each in the Netherlands and the UK.