Danantara Investment Management buys 25 per cent stake in JBS

Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund now has a 25 per cent stake in the Australian and New Zealand arm of JBS.

Danantara Investment Management has invested USD$2.5 billion into JBS, with the company aiming to expand into Southeast Asia.

The transaction is subject to required Australian regulatory approvals.

JBS owns Huon Aquaculture, and runs a beef processing facility at Longford and has a meat wholesale office at Legana.

The company’s global CEO, Gilberto Tomazoni, said the partnership with Danantara marks an important step in our long-term growth strategy in Southeast Asia.

“As a cornerstone of the broader JBS global platform, our Australia and New Zealand footprint provides strong operations, world-class standards, and significant growth potential,” Mr Tomazoni said.

“Together with Danantara, we are well positioned to expand our presence across Indonesia and Southeast Asia, strengthen regional protein supply chains, broaden market access, and accelerate the development of Indonesia’s protein sector.”

JBS Australia CEO Brent Eastwood said the move is aligned with JBS’s long-term strategy, focused on geographic diversification, branded and value-added products, sustainable growth and shareholder returns.

“This investment is a strong endorsement of JBS Australia’s proven track record in establishing and growing food businesses throughout Australia, New Zealand and around the world,” Mr Eastwood said.

“Under the structure of the partnership, JBS Australia’s operations remain unchanged — existing management retains day-to-day control, and nothing changes for our 17,000 team members, customers and producer partners.”

TasFarmers Red Meat & Wool Committee Chair George Shea said the Indonesian investment was a strategic one.

“Indonesia is a big growth market for beef,” Mr Shea said.

“It’s a very good partnership as far as increasing market access.”

Mr Shea said he expected it would be business as usual for JBS’ Tasmanian operations.

“I don’t think there is anything sinister going on here.

“It should hopefully be business as usual with some positive outcomes in the future.”