BRF, Qatar to buy Turkish poultry firm Banvit in $470 mln venture (updated)

Banvit Bandirma Vitaminli Yem Sanayi AS

09/01/2017 22:32

(Adds quotes from BRF executive) 
    SAO PAULO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Brazilian food processor BRF SA 
 BRFS3.SA  and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund agreed to buy the 
operations of Turkish poultry producer Banvit  BANVT.IS  in a 
joint venture, BRF said in a securities filing on Monday. 
    BRF said it would take a 60 percent stake in the venture and 
the Qatar Investment Authority will take 40 percent in a deal 
that calculates Banvit's enterprise value at $470 million.  
    "It's a valuation we consider attractive," BRF Vice 
President for Finance and Investor Relations Alexandre Borges,  
said in an interview. 
    The deal is part of BRF's move into the halal market, with 
Banvit being integrated into OneFoods, a BRF subsidiary 
dedicated to halal food that began operations last week. 
    The first phase of the deal involves acquiring 79.5 percent 
of Turkish market leader Banvit, followed by a tender offer for 
the rest of the company. 
    "We can use our own cash, we've got the cash for that, or we 
could use a different alternative," Borges said, explaining that 
the money could be raised through OneFoods. 
 
 (Reporting by Paula Laier, writing by Brad Haynes; editing by 
Alistair Bell and Grant McCool) 
 ((brad.c.haynes@tr.com; +55-11-5644-7725; Reuters Messaging: 
brad.c.haynes.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: BANVITAS M&A/BRF