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Brazilian to be Swift CEO after sale

FoodProcessing.com
07/16/2007

Swift & Company reported that Wesley Mendonça Batista will become Swift & Company’s president, CEO and a director immediately following the completion of its previously announced sale to J&F Participações S.A. Sam B. Rovit, president, CEO and a director of Swift since July 1, 2005, will relinquish all executive and director responsibilities immediately upon completion of the transaction.

Batista is currently the executive director of operations of Brazil’s JBS S.A., Latin America’s largest beef processor, the vice president of its board of directors and a J&F partner. He is a member of the JBS founding family and has been employed in the beef industry his entire career, having served in various capacities at JBS since 1987.

“We are very grateful for Sam Rovit’s leadership during a very challenging time for both Swift and the beef industry,” said Batista. “I look forward to bringing the JBS and Swift teams together to grow Swift into an even stronger company.”

“I am very proud of Swift’s achievements over the past two years, namely the dramatic improvement in our U.S. beef business while maintaining our industry leading positions in U.S. pork and Australian beef,” said Rovit. “I am confident that Wesley and the entire JBS / Swift team can collectively take the company to the next level as a leading global provider of beef and pork.”

On May 29, 2007, HM Capital Partners LLC, a leading, Dallas-based private equity firm, J&F, controlling shareholder of JBS, and Swift & Company, the world’s third-largest processor of fresh beef and pork products, announced that HM Capital and J&F had signed a definitive agreement under which J&F will acquire Swift in an all-cash transaction representing an enterprise value of approximately $1.4 billion.

Completion of the transaction is subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino and other antitrust reviews and customary closing conditions, and is expected to occur in mid-July.