SÃO PAULO – JBS S.A. signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Rivalea Holdings Pty. Ltd. and 100% of Oxdale Dairy Enterprise Pty. Ltd. from Singapore-listed food company QAF Limited for $135 million. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals including the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) in Australia.

Rivalea is a vertically integrated market leader in hog breeding and processing in Australia, accounting for 26% of the hogs processed in that country. The company has hog breeding and production operations in Southern New South Wales and Victoria. Company-owned pork processing plants are in Melbourne and Corowa. JBS said the acquisition will increase the company’s product diversification in Australia, enable higher volumes of value-added pork products within the Primo ham, bacon and smallgoods business, and open new opportunities for domestic and export sales of pork.

“With the acquisition of Rivalea, JBS becomes a leader in pork processing in Australia,” said Gilberto Tomazoni, JBS Global chief executive officer. “We will add important brands to our portfolio to create strong conditions to accelerate the growth of the value-added and branded businesses in the country, in addition to strengthening our export platform.”

The company’s brand portfolio includes Family Chef, Murray Valley Pork, Riverview Farms, St. Bernard's, and High Country Pork. The company also offers premium offals and supplies pork to retailers and wholesalers for private-label sales.

Brent Eastwood, CEO of JBS Australia, said, “With total annual sales of circa AU$400 million (US$310 million), an EBITDA of AU$37 million, two facilities and more than a thousand employees, Rivalea already has sustainability as the focus of its business strategy. The company sells well-known Australian consumer brands such as Riverview Farms, Family Chef and St. Bernard's that will strengthen our presence with consumers and customers.”