“The company intends to use the proceeds from the sale to reduce its financial leverage,” JBS said in a news release announcing the sale. “The acquisition price is subject to adjustments equivalent to the difference between net working capital and long-term debt at the closing date, which, on March 31, 2017, was positive at approximately US$40 million.”
On May 30, holding company J&F Participações (J&F) and the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor’s Office entered into a leniency agreement in the JBS SA bribery scandal. The agreement outlined payments made solely by J&F over 25 years to equal R$10.3 billion (US$3.18 billion) as it relates to the Bullish and Weak Flesh investigations, bribes paid by JBS to Brazil’s former and current presidents and meat inspectors along with questionable loans made to JBS by the National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES) through its subsidiary BNDESPAR.
The leniency agreement comes after the resignations of Joesley Batista and his brother, Wesley Batista, from the JBS SA board of directors. Joesley Batista served as chairman, while Wesley Batista served as vice chairman. Wesley Batista will continue in his role as CEO of JBS SA, while his father, José Batista Sobrinho, assumes the role of board vice chairman. Joesley Batista was replaced by Tarek Farahat, who has served on the company’s board since 2013 and has been the company’s Global President of Marketing and Innovation since 2015.
