JBS (B3: JBSS3, NYSE: JBS) is a publicly listed company headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil that owns 5 consumer brands, and has 3 recorded transactions.[1]
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.
JBS acquired Primo Smallgoods for about AUD 1.45 billion, its largest Australian purchase. Primo is the largest bacon and smallgoods brand in Australia and New Zealand, and the deal gave JBS a branded consumer business rather than only slaughter and processing capacity.
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.
JBS acquired Swift & Company for about $1.4 billion, its entry into the United States. Swift was one of the great Chicago meatpacking houses, founded in 1855 and central to the industrialisation of American meat described in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.