Image credit: rez-art / iStock

Brief: JBS to acquire cultivated meat company in $100m investment

November 18, 2021

  • Brazil’s JBS — the world’s largest meat processor — plans to acquire a majority stake in Spanish cultivated meat company BioTech Foods as part of a $100 million investment into the nascent sector, Reuters reports.
  • Of that total, $41 million will go towards construction of a manufacturing plant in Spain which could produce up to 1,000 tons of cultivated meat per year, according to Brazilian financial newspaper Valor.
  • Some of the capital will also be deployed to build an R&D center in Brazil focused on cell-cultured meat.

Why it matters:

The market entry of the world’s biggest meat processing and packing firm is a massive milestone for the cultivated meat industry, which has recently come under increased skepticism about its economic viability.

“When we enter a business, it is to have a leadership position,” JBS global CEO Gilberto Tomazoni told Valor.

In May, JBS agreed to acquire Netherlands plant-based protein brand Vivera in a deal worth €341 million ($409 million).

Several other ‘Big Meat’ companies have invested in plant-based protein startups, but have been slower in backing cultivated meat makers. Among those to have taken minority stakes in cell-cultured meat startups are BRF, Cargill, CJ CheilJedang, and Thai Union, which participated in in the $105 million Series B funding round that Israel’s Aleph Farms raised in July.

San Sebastian-based Biotech Foods develops products under the Ethicameat brand.

Join the Newsletter

Get the latest news & research from AFN and AgFunder in your inbox.

Share on email
Share on twitter
Share on facebook
Share on linkedin
Share on reddit
Share on whatsapp
Share on skype
Join the Newsletter
Get the latest news and research from AFN & AgFunder in your inbox.

Follow us:

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
AGF_ReachAds2.jpg

Sign up for our weekly food+ag+climate newsletter



This will close in 0 seconds

Join Newsletter