Minerva Foods submits revised proposal to acquire Marfrig’s Uruguay slaughterhouses

URUGUAY – Minerva Foods has submitted a new proposal to Uruguay’s antitrust regulator to acquire three local slaughterhouses from Marfrig Global Foods.

The Comisión de Promoción y Defensa de la Competencia (Coprodec) previously rejected Minerva’s attempt in May to purchase the facilities in San José, Salto, and Colonia.

In the revised bid, Minerva still seeks to acquire all three plants but has proposed selling the Colonia site immediately after completing the transaction.

The company named Allana Group, a producer of halal meat and pet food, as the intended buyer for the Colonia facility if the regulator approves the deal.

Minerva has pursued the Uruguay assets as part of a broader acquisition agreement with Marfrig that dates back to 2023, involving plants in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.

The entire deal covers 11 processing plants and a distribution center in Brazil, the three facilities in Uruguay, a plant in Argentina, and another in Chile, with a total value of US$1.3 billion.

Regulatory approval for the Brazil, Argentina, and Chile portion of the acquisition came last August from the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), which required Minerva to divest one Brazilian site after the transaction.

The Uruguay segment of the agreement was previously valued at approximately US$117 million.

Marfrig acknowledged Minerva’s revised proposal in a statement, clarifying that the new approach does not alter the terms agreed upon in August 2023 for the Uruguay transaction.

The company stated that Minerva remains committed to acquiring all three sites under the original contract, with any subsequent sale of the Colonia facility being an independent move solely managed by Minerva.

Minerva Expands in South America

The latest developments in Uruguay follow Minerva’s acquisition of Marfrig assets in Brazil, which received clearance from CADE.

As part of that agreement, Minerva took over 13 slaughter and deboning facilities for cattle and sheep, along with a distribution center.

With the additional sites, Minerva has expanded its processing capacity to handle 22,336 cattle per day across 21 plants in Brazil.

The company is also integrating one cattle processing facility in Argentina and a lamb slaughterhouse in Chile under the same agreement.

Minerva’s operations in Argentina now have a daily capacity of 5,978 cattle across six facilities, while lamb processing in Chile and Australia reaches 25,716 head per day across five plants.

These acquisitions strengthen Minerva’s supply chain for international markets, including North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

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