Shares of meatpacking giant JBS rise slightly in debut on the NYSE

Employees move into an entrance to the JBS meat processing plant in Greeley, Colo. on July 22, 2021 (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Shares of Brazilian meat giant JBS gained 1.6 per cent in as they made their debut Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Trading in New York has been a long-held goal for JBS, which was founded 72 years ago and is now one of the world’s largest meat companies. Half of its annual revenue comes from the U.S., where it has more than 72,000 employees. JBS is America’s top beef producer and its second-largest producer of poultry and pork.

JBS’s minority shareholders voted last month to approve the company’s plan to list its shares both in Sao Paulo and New York, casting aside opposition from environmental groups, U.S. lawmakers and others who noted JBS’ record of corruption, monopolistic behavior and environmental destruction.

JBS said a dual listing would give it broader access to investors and more competitive interest rates, which would help it finance its growth. It has also said a U.S. listing would subject it to more oversight from regulators. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved JBS’s planned listing last month.

Still, the proposed listing has received significant pushback. Earlier this week, Mighty Earth, an environmental group, said it sent a letter to the NYSE board urging it to decline the listing. Mighty Earth contends that JBS is illegally profiting from deforested land in Brazil.

Glass Lewis, an influential independent investor advisory firm, was also among those recommending that JBS’s shareholders reject the planned listing.

In its report, Glass Lewis said the recent return of brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista to the JBS board should concern investors. The brothers, who are the sons of JBS’ founder, were briefly jailed in Brazil in 2017 on bribery and corruption charges.

Glass Lewis also objected to the company’s plan for dual share classes, which give the Batistas and other controlling shareholders more voting power.

JBS said the outcome showed shareholders were confident in the benefits a dual listing would bring.

Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press