MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil’s meatpacker Marfrig sells Keystone logistics arm for 400m dollars

Chief Executive Marcos Molina, “we received a very good offer; we want to focus on market”

After a string of takeovers in recent years, Brazilian meatpacker Marfrig Alimentos SA said on Sunday it reached a deal to sell the logistics arm acquired when it bought US distributor Keystone Foods.

Marfrig sold the Keystone logistics arm for 400 million dollars to distributor Martin-Brower so that the Brazilian company could focus on its core business of meatpacking. In June 2010, Marfrig reached an agreement to buy major US distributor Keystone Foods for 1.26 billion dollars.

“We received a very good offer and we sold this arm, which wasn't part of our core, to focus on market” said Chief Executive Marcos Molina.

The sale primarily included trucks and storage facilities, though excluding a recent joint venture with COFCO for development of logistics in China.

Marfrig will continue to own distribution systems for its own meats. Rather, the logistics business sold distributes other products, such as cups, straws and other materials.

“When we bought Keystone, we bought the whole package, but we've analyzed things and, as our focus is to look for synergies, to focus on business, we decided on the sale,“ Molina said.

Molina had previously said that the company would not be considering more takeovers until 2012, after the company posted a second-quarter net loss.

”As we've made a lot of acquisitions in the past, this year and next will be years of synergy and efficiency,” he added on Sunday.