BRF Is Said in Talks to Sell Pet Food Unit Amid Overhaul

Brazilian poultry giant BRF SA is in talks to sell its pet food unit to raise cash amid a business overhaul, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.

(Bloomberg) — Brazilian poultry giant BRF SA is in talks to sell its pet food unit to raise cash amid a business overhaul, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The food company is working with Santander SA’s Brazilian unit to sell the division for about 2 billion reais ($384 million), the people said, asking not to be named since the discussions are private. BRF paid 1.35 billion reais for the assets in 2021.

BRF has about 10% of the fast growing Brazilian pet food market with brands including Balance and Gran Plus, according to company figures. Shares in BRF reversed losses on the back of the news and were up 2.6% at 4:48 p.m. local time in Sao Paulo.

BRF declined to comment. Santander didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

BRF, one of the world’s biggest poultry exporters, is considering plans to reduce leverage and focus on its main business of chicken, pork and processed food production. The Sao Paulo-based firm has been going through an overhaul since meat baron Marcos Molina dos Santos became its biggest shareholder with 33% of the shares. Molina is the founder and chairman of beef producer Marfrig Global Foods SA.

BRF, which reports its fourth quarter results on Tuesday, has seen shares drop about 60% over the past year to 6.63 reais, giving it a total market value of 7.2 billion reais.

Marfrig, which bought a stake in BRF in 2021 and started consolidating its results last year, climbed to session highs amid the Bloomberg News report, gaining as much as 3.8%.

(Adds stock move starting in third paragraph, updates to say BRF declined to comment in fourth.)

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