Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA said in a securities filing late on Friday the company is considering a U.S. listing of its international assets but not a change of its headquarters.
The company said it expects to have a capital structure that allows it to compete “on equal footing” with international rivals, adding that tax rates were not the main reason for the potential listing.
While JBS said it would not move its headquarters, the filing noted that the “choice of a country to constitute the vehicle that will be listed” was part of the process of listing its overseas operations.
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In the filing, JBS also denied an earlier report by Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo that cited an alleged June plan, mentioning a potential change of headquarters to the Netherlands or Luxembourg.
Two years ago, a transaction proposed by JBS that included transferring its international operations to Ireland was blocked by the Brazilian development bank BNDES, a relevant shareholder in the company.
Among the international JBS operations that have previously been proposed for inclusion in such an IPO is the company’s Brooks, Alta. beef packing plant, one of Canada’s largest, with capacity to process up to 4,200 head of cattle per day.
— Reporting for Reuters by Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo.
