JBS Brazilian meat company goes public in the U.S.

Shares of Brazilian meat giant JBS rose during their U.S. public market debut on Friday.

The opening trade of $13.65 per share values the company at roughly $30 billion, outstripping rival Tyson Foods’ market cap of about $19.82 billion. Shares closed at $13.87, a slight gain for the day.

JBS is now trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “JBS,” a day later than initially expected. The company said it couldn’t conclude certain operational procedures in time to debut on Thursday. Its stock was delisted from the Sao Paolo Exchange in Brazil a week ago as part of the dual-listing plan.

Since its founding more than seven decades ago, JBS has grown to become the world’s largest meatpacking company. Last year, the company reported net revenue of $77.2 billion and net income of $2 billion, according to regulatory filings.

JBS operates a sprawling business worldwide, with significant divisions in Brazil, the U.S. and Australia. The company also owns more than 80% of Pilgrim’s Pride, the U.S. poultry giant.

JBS’s U.S. listing is more than 15 years in the making. The company’s U.S. subsidiary first announced plans to go public in 2009, but the move never came to fruition after two postponements. Then, in late 2016, the company said it would have a U.S. initial public offering as part of a broader reorganization strategy. But months later, the Brazilian government began investigating corruption in the meatpacking company — including among JBS and its top executives.

J&F Investimentos, the holding company that owns a controlling stake in JBS, paid a $3.2 billion fine in 2017 to settle bribery charges. Former chair Joesley Batista and his older brother CEO Wesley Batista, the company’s top shareholders and the sons of its founder, managed to avoid prison sentences by cooperating with prosecutors. The Batistas and J&F settled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2020 for roughly $27 million.

The Batistas exited J&F in the wake of the scandal. However, they returned to the company’s board last year after being acquitted of insider trading charges.

More recently, in October, the Brazilian government fined JBS for buying cattle that were allegedly illegally raised in protected land in the Amazon.

The company’s history of corruption and bribery allegations led to opposition to its U.S. listing from lawmakers on the both sides of the aisle, making it look unlikely that regulators would grant their approval.

After President Donald Trump’s reelection, JBS’s subsidiary Pilgrim’s Pride donated $5 million to his inaugration committee, making it the single largest donor. In a statement to CNBC at the time, the company said it had a “long bipartisan history participating in the civic process” and looked forward to working with the new administration.

The SEC approved JBS’s request to list on the New York Stock Exchange in April. JBS shareholders approved the move by a narrow margin the following month.