BRF completes Argentine asset sale with deal for Campo Austral

BRF has offloaded its wholly-owned Campo Austral business for $35 million, concluding the sale of all its assets in Argentina.

Pork-based food manufacturer Campo Austral operates three plants, located in Florencio Varela, San Andrés de Giles, and Pilar, all in Argentina, with a slaughtering capacity of 2,300 hogs per day.

The transaction consists of the sale of the facility in Florencio Varela, and all assets and liabilities related to it, including the Bocatti and Calchaquí brands, to Argentine firm BOGS. It also includes the sale of 100% of the capital stock issued by Campo Austral, including its facilities in San Andrés de Giles and Pilar, and the Campo Austral brand, to La Piamontesa de Averaldo Giacosa y Compañía.

Last month, BRF sold its Argentine chicken and margarine company Avex for $50 million and offloaded Quickfood to Marfrig for $55 million.

The three sales form part of a large-scale restructuring plan unveiled last year, with BRF setting a target of BRL 5 billion ($1.28 billion) through the sale of assets.

The Brazilian firm said it would focus mainly on Brazil, Asia and markets in the Muslim world – all regions where it “occupies a leading position and has strong competitive advantages”. 

In 2017, the company was involved in the ‘carne fraca’ scandal in which officials from BRF, as well as a handful of other Brazilian companies, were accused of paying inspectors and politicians to overlook potentially contaminated or rotten meat, which was due for export.