Brazilian beef producer Marfrig Global Foods tried to acquire control of rival Minerva before it announced late on Friday it had bought a stake in poultry and pork processor BRF, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday, May 24.
The source, who requested anonymity to disclose private discussions, said the talks were interrupted last week, after Marfrig took the stake in BRF, due to concerns about potential problems with Brazilian antitrust agency CADE.
Still, the takeover talks between Marfrig and Minerva, which both focus on beef production, cast new light on Marfrig founder Marcos Molina’s insistence that the BRF deal is simply a passive investing strategy aimed at diversifying his protein portfolio.
Marfrig declined to comment on the talks with Minerva. Minerva did not immediately comment on the matter.
The earlier talks between Marfrig and Minerva were first reported by financial blog Brazil Journal on Monday. Minerva shares were up 2% in early afternoon trading in Sao Paulo.
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