BRF’s newly formed subsidiary OneFoods – ostensibly the largest halal brand in the world – will take a 60% stake in the venture, while the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will hold the remaining 40%.
The deal is part of BRF’s manoeuvring to establish itself as the foremost player in the halal market. Once complete, the acquisition will give BRF subsidiary OneFoods access to the Turkish market, which has the largest consumption of halal poultry in the world, according to BRF.
“The acquisition of Banvit is the first step on the agenda to accelerate the growth of OneFoods,” added Patricio Rohner, BRF’s general director in the Middle East and North Africa and head of OneFoods.
Huge halal market
He boasted in a statement that OneFoods already retains approximately a 45% share of the poultry market in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
Turkey accounts for roughly 10% of global halal poultry consumption and the pending acquisition of Banvit with QIA will bring “important commercial and operational synergies” to the halal subsidiary, added Rohner.
Banvit is a fully integrated poultry business with operations ranging from feed control to food processing. The company has five feed plants, four chicken hatcheries and five production facilities, located in the west and east of the country.
BRF published a financial bulletin to the market in which it estimated the net debt of Banvit to be $340m.
The first part of the deal will see the joint venture acquire a 79.5% stake in Turkish poultry giant Banvit, followed by a mandatory tender to buy the remaining 20.5% of the shares from minority shareholders.
The takeover is subject to anti-trust approval, as well as other regulatory protocols.