SÃO PAULO — Brazilian meatpacker BRF S.A. announced on July 4 that it is offering up 600 million of its common shares of stock.

According to a company announcement, the base offering begins at 500 million common shares, which may be increased by up to 20% if there’s sufficient demand.

Pricing for the offering is expected on July 13. BRF anticipates the beginning of trading on the São Paulo Stock Exchange will occur the next day, and the settlement is expected on the third business day.

“We intend to use all of the net proceeds from the offering to deleverage and to improve our capital structure,” BRF said in the material fact.

BRF announced an earlier offering in May, in which Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) agreed to purchase up to 250 million of common shares, granted that the offering price did not exceed R$9.00 (US$1.84) per common share.

With SALIC’s commitment, Marfrig Global Foods S.A. also agreed to a subscription of up to 250 million shares.