By Gerson Freitas Jr.
Minerva SA, South America’s top beef exporter, agreed to buy some assets from rival Marfrig Global Foods SA for 7.5 billion reais ($1.5 billion).
The assets, in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, will boost the company’s cattle slaughtering capacity by 44%, Minerva said in a statement Monday. A down payment of 1.5 billion reais has been made, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. has committed to providing financing for the rest of the transaction, the company added.
The deal comes at a time when Minerva is outperforming its more diversified rivals, including Marfrig and JBS…
