South American meat giant Athena Foods is considering investing in red meat processing in Australia as part of an expansion triggered by a planned public listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Athena Foods is a subsidiary of Minerva Foods, which split its business two years ago, while Minerva continues to operate in Brazil, and a new Athena subsidiary is responsible for operations in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia.
Athena has 16 processing plants throughout the region, including 5 in Argentina, 3 in Uruguay, 6 in Paraguay and 2 in Colombia. Athena accounts for about half of Minerva's total turnover each year.
Athena / Minerva's business is believed to be more export-oriented than its main South American competitor, JBS, with Uruguay and Argentina in particular having easy access to premium markets in Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere. Athena / Minerva accounts for about 10 % of all South American beef exports.
Athena has told potential investors that it expects its acquisitions in Australia to increase revenues to $ 393 million in 2022 upon completion of the acquisition and to $ 492 million by 2023.
Source: meatinfo.ru