JBS Sells Brazilian Dairy Company to Mexican Firm

Brazil's holding company J&F Investimentos SA said it signed an agreement to sell dairy company Vigor Alimentos SA to Mexico's Grupo Lala SAB de CV.

In a statement, J&F, which holds investments of the billionaire Batista family and is also the controlling shareholder of JBS SA, the world's largest meatpacker, said the enterprise value of the company is 5.7 billion reais ($1.8 billion).

Reuters reported on Monday that Lala had valued Vigor at $1.8 billion.

J&F holds 80.8 percent of Vigor and JBS has a 19.2 percent stake. Both are selling their stakes.

JBS said in a securities filing that its stake in Vigor had an enterprise value of 1.1 billion reais ($353.4 million), but the company will receive from Lala 780 million reais ($250.6 million), equivalent to the stake's equity value.

J&F did not specify how much it will effectively be paid for its stake, which has an enterprise value of 4.6 billion reais.

Lala confirmed in a filing its board agreed to propose the acquisition to shareholders. "There are important potential synergies, in the productive and commercial areas," the filing said.

Vigor is the second firm sold by J&F since the holding company agreed in May to pay a record-setting 10.3 billion-real ($3.1 billion) leniency fine after members of the Batista family admitted bribing politicians to get favors.

Havaianas flip-flop maker Alpargatas SA was sold to the investment firms of Brazil's most prominent banking families for 3.5 billion reais ($1.1 billion) on July 12.