Brazilian meat giant JBS and the owners of South America’s largest egg producer have formed a joint venture — and plan to launch a U.S. egg business through a newly announced acquisition.
Mantiqueira USA, operated by JBS and the family that owns Mantiqueira, said that it has reached an agreement to acquire Hickman’s Egg Ranch, an Arizona-based producer with a presence across the Mountain West and West Coast markets.
MTQ USA said that the move would add one of the nation’s 20 largest egg producers and advance its goal of building “a strong, scalable presence in the U.S. egg market.”
“This acquisition is an important milestone for JBS in the United States, expanding our presence into a new and complementary protein category,” JBS USA CEO Wesley Batista Filho said in a statement. “By partnering with the Pinto family through MTQ USA, we are creating strong synergies that will enhance collaboration, improve efficiency and accelerate innovation.”
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year; additional terms were not disclosed.
“Expanding into the United States has long been a vision for our family, and taking this step through the acquisition of Hickman’s makes this moment especially meaningful,” added Mantiqueira founder Leandro Pinto. “Hickman’s is a respected leader with a legacy of quality and service.”
