São Paulo –The Brazilian food processing company BRF and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) have signed a joint venture to acquire the operations Banvit, the largest poultry producer and market leader in Turkey. The information was made public in a statement by BRF.
BRF points out that Turkey is the world’s largest consumer of halal poultry. Halal food is produced according to the Islamic law. In the joint venture between the Brazilian company and the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, BRF will take a 60% stake and QIA will take a 40% stake of the Turkish company. The enterprise value of Banvit, which includes market value and net debt, was calculated in USD 470 million.
Banvit has five feed mills, four hatcheries and five production plants. “The units are located in the country’s West, which concentrates most consumers, and East, which positions it as the only company capable of serving both the domestic and export markets,” said Pedro Faria, global CEO of BRF in the company’s statement.
According to BRF, the assets of Banvit will be incorporated into OneFoods, the newly established BRF subsidiary dedicated to the halal market. “The acquisition of Banvit is the first step on the agenda to accelerate the growth of OneFoods, which holds market share in chicken production of approximately 45% in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, countries where it operates with own distribution and a broad product portfolio,” said Patricio Rohner, the executive heading OneFoods’ operations.
With an 80 million population, Turkey accounts for 10% of halal poultry consumption in the world. However, the per capita consumption is of only 20 kg per year with low penetration of processed food products. To BRF, these numbers mean an important opportunity for growth in the Middle East country.
“In addition to the growth opportunities offered by the Turkish market, especially in processed products, we see important commercial and operational synergies to capture by integrating the operations of Banvit and OneFoods, which will further consolidate our strength and leadership in the halal animal protein market,” said Rohner.
The first phase of the transaction includes the acquisition of 79.5% interest in Banvit, followed later by a tender offer for the remaining minority interest of 20.5%.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani