Brazil’s Major Meat Exporter Buys Meatpackers from Argentina and Uruguay

Brazilian company Marfrig FrigorÀ­ficos e Comércio de Alimentos S.A., one of the largest producers of meat and meat products in Latin America, has reached an initial agreement to buy 70.51% of the shares of Quickfood S.A. from its controlling shareholders and 100% of the Capital Stock of Establecimientos Colonia S.A., a Uruguayan company controlled by the same group.

Quickfood has been listed on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange as PATY since 2002. In the event that the acquisition is confirmed Marfrig informs that it does not have plans to acquire the remaining free float of Quickfood and that it does not have any statutory obligation to do so.

Marfrig has also established, through its subsidiary in Argentina, Argentina Breeders & Packers S.A., protocols of agreement for potential acquisition of the full capital stocks of Best Beef S.A. ("Vivorata"), located in Vivorata, province of Buenos Aires, owned by Newtabi Sociedad Anonima and Perez Santiago Martin.

The company is also in the process of buying Estancias del Sur S.A. (EDSA and including REXCEL S.A.), owned by Machir Bay S.A. and Wilman Investimentos S.A. The value of the potential acquisitions amounts to USD 266.8 million, subject to adjustments.

Quickfood is the leading beef processing company in Argentina. Its main activities include the slaughter, production, processing and exportation of beef and bovine by-products.

Colonia's main activities include the slaughter, production, processing and exportation of beef and bovine by-products, and it also produces hamburgers under the PATY hamburger brand in Uruguay.

Vivorata has slaughter capacity of 800 head/day and processing capacity of 15 tons/day of cooked beef and hamburgers sold under the brand names Lola and Lolita.

EDSA has slaughtering capacity of 1,000 head/day and is located in the city of Cordoba.