JBS S.A. announced July 14 that its indirect subsidiary JBS Food Canada Inc. (JBS Canada) has reached an agreement to sell its 75,000 head capacity beef cattle feedyard Lakeside Feeders and adjacent farmland in Brooks, Alberta, Canada, to MCF Holdings Ltd. (MCF), a subsidiary of livestock-base agricultural business Nilsson Bros. Inc., for $50 million CAD (approximately US$40 million).
Under terms of the agreement, MCF will continue to supply cattle to the JBS Food Canada beef processing facility in Brooks. MCF anticipates offering employment to current feed yard and farm employees upon closing.Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory review and approval.
JBS Food Canada was formed in 2013 and JBS Five Rivers was tasked with managing the Lakeside Feeders yard in Brooks. However, JBS S.A., reeling from several scandals, announced last month that it would be selling Five Rivers Cattle Feeding as part of a divestment program to raise approximately 6 billion reals ($1.8 billion) to reduce debt and leverage. Five Rivers, the world's largest cattle feeding company, operates 12 feedyards in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Idaho and Alberta and markets more than 1.5 million head of cattle per year.
Upon completion of the transaction, one beef packing plant in Brooks, Alberta, and a corporate headquarters in Calgary, Alberta will remain under JBS Food Canada Inc.
MCF Holdings owns a diverse group of agricultural businesses that operate across all the Western provinces, including auction markets, livestock insurance and finance, and feed yards. Nilsson Bros. also has ranches and livestock production facilities in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Corporate offices are located in Edmonton, Alberta.
Source: Feedstuffs
Photo Courtesy: Feedstuffs
