Pilgrim's is owned by JBS (Brazil, B3: JBSS3), which acquired the brand on 28 December 2009 for $2.8 billion.[1][2] Pilgrim's was founded in 1946 in Greeley, Colorado and was independent until 2009.
JBS owns 80% of Pilgrim's rather than all of it.
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: JBS S.A. Annual Report 2025, 26 March 2026. Last checked .
Pilgrim's Pride is one of the largest chicken producers in the United States, founded in Texas in 1946. It filed for bankruptcy in 2008 after over-expanding, and JBS acquired a controlling stake in 2009, which it still holds through a separately listed subsidiary.
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full JBS ownership tree →
See the full JBS brand portfolio (5) →
JBS controls 5 brands on Brandtree, 5 of them in food.
The 56 brands in fresh meat & poultry on Brandtree belong to 27 owners. The largest is LDC, with 6; JBS has 3.
JBS is a publicly listed company headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, founded in 1953. Brandtree records 5 brands under its control, and it is listed as B3: JBSS3 and NYSE: JBS.
JBS was founded in 1953 as a small Brazilian slaughterhouse and is now the largest meat processing company in the world by revenue, operating in more than fifteen countries. It expanded into the United States by acquiring Swift and Pilgrim's Pride, and is controlled by the founding Batista family through J&F Investimentos.
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,549 brands that began in the United States. 478 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Pilgrim's among them.
JBS acquired a controlling stake in Pilgrim's Pride out of bankruptcy for about $2.8 billion, making the Brazilian group one of the largest poultry producers in the United States as well as the largest beef processor.
The parent company of Pilgrim's is JBS, a publicly listed company headquartered in Brazil.
Pilgrim's originated in the United States in 1946, but it is owned today by JBS, which is headquartered in Brazil. So Pilgrim's is an American-origin brand under Brazilian ownership.
JBS completed its acquisition of Pilgrim's on 28 December 2009, after announcing the deal on 16 September 2009. The deal was valued at $2.8 billion (enterprise value).
Pilgrim's was an independent company from its founding in 1946 in Greeley, Colorado until JBS acquired it in 2009.
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Pilgrim's is still owned by JBS (80% stake). The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
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