CORPORATE LAW
We profile some of the top deals of the year so far...
The senior management team at Moy Park, Mike Mullen, Alan Gibson, Keith Irvine and Kanet McCollum, in a photoshoot for the 2015 Ulster Business Top 100 Companies magazine. Moy Park is Northern Ireland’s biggest company by turnover.
Moy Park’s Brazilian salsa
T
he sale of Moy Park earlier this year saw Marfrig, its previous Brazilian owner, more than double its original investment in less than seven years.
Named after founder José Batista Sobrinho who started the business from a butchers shop in 1953, JBS has been on the acquisitive trail since 2005, building up operations in 24 countries on five continents.
Marfrig bought the Craigavon headquartered poultry producer in 2008 for $680m (£430m) and announced in June an agreement to sell the business to fellow Brazilian company JBS SA for $1.5bn (£950,000), a profit of £520m.
The Batista family still own more than 40% of the business, while some of Brazil’s largest state-owned banks account for much of the remainder.
Marfrig used the proceeds from the sale to pay down debt, a move which has been welcomed by the Brazilian stock market.
Moy Park CEO Janet McCollum said the deal is a slap on the back for the poultry firm. “We are very pleased and encouraged by this development which is great recognition for Moy Park,” she said. “The Moy Park team,
According to latest accounts filed at Companies House, Moy Park made pretax profits of £50.6m for the year to December 2014, up from £34m for the year ending December 2013, on turnover of £1.39bn.
JBS is the second largest global food business and the largest poultry company in the world and, subject to regulatory approval, will be buying Northern Ireland’s largest company.
NOVEMBER 2015
together with our dedicated farming partners, will continue to meet and exceed the needs of our customers and consumers throughout the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe providing innovative, top quality products underpinned by the highest standards of animal welfare.”
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