World’s largest meat firm relocates headquarters to Dublin

JBS Foods International (JBSFI) will be transferring its headquarters and the equivalent of £26bn worth of assets across the Atlantic to Ireland. 

Despite the South American giant moving its permanent base to Ireland it will not be run there – management will remain in Brazil.

The firm, which sells meat in 190 countries worldwide, denies the move is to take advantage of Ireland’s favourable corporate tax rate of 12.5% compared with 20% in the UK.

See also: Moy Park sale to ‘world’s largest meat producer’ complete

Instead, it claims the global reorganisation is taking place to help the business raise more capital, something that has proven difficult in the turbulent Brazilian economy.

In September last year, JBSFI paid £988m in a takeover of the Northern Irish poultry processor Moy Park giving the Brazilian corporation a platform to enter the European meat market.

JBS Foods, which has an annual turnover of £39bn, also intends to register about £158,000,000 of shares on the New York Stock Exchange.