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Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brazil's JBS asks shareholders to overlook opposition and approve a US stock listing
Making meat is a messy business. But for Brazilian meat giant JBS, getting approval to trade its shares on the New York Stock Exchange has been even messier. Environmentalists, animal rights groups, U.S. lawmakers and even some of its own investors have tried to stop a U.S. listing for JBS, noting the company's long record of corruption, monopolistic behavior and environmental destruction. But JBS has persevered, saying dual listings in Sao Paulo and New York would attract new investors and better reflect its global portfolio. Late last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission granted the company's request to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. JBS is one of the world's largest food companies, with more than 250 production facilities in 17 countries. Half of its annual revenue comes from the U.S., where it has more than 72,000 employees. It's America's top beef producer and it's second-largest producer of poultry and pork. On Friday, JBS' minority shareholders – who hold 30% of its shares – are scheduled to vote on the dual-listing plan. If they approve it, the company could list its shares in New York as early as next month. Early vote totals, which JBS released Thursday in a filing in Brazil, showed that 52% of shareholders opposed the plan. But there were many more votes to be counted, so the outcome was far from clear. Last fall, 20 environmental organizations — including Mighty Earth, Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network — signed an open letter to JBS investors opposing the listing, saying it would put the climate at greater risk. Glass Lewis, an influential independent investor advisory firm, was also among those recommending that shareholders reject the plan. In its report, Glass Lewis said the recent return of brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista to the JBS board should concern investors. The brothers, who are the sons of JBS' founder, were briefly jailed in Brazil in 2017 on bribery and corruption charges. 'In our view, the involvement of the company and of Joesley and Wesley Batista in multiple high-profile scandals has tarnished the company's reputation, undermining stakeholder trust and posing a significant risk to its competitive position,' Glass Lewis said. Glass Lewis also objected to the company's plan for dual share classes, which would give the Batistas and other controlling shareholders more voting power. In its response to Glass Lewis' report, JBS said it has established more stringent controls and anti-corruption training at the company in recent years. It also said a U.S. listing would ensure more oversight from U.S. authorities. 'We believe this transaction will increase our visibility in global markets, attract new investors and further strengthen our position as a global food industry leader,' JBS Global CEO Gilberto Tomazoni said in a statement last month when the company announced Friday's vote. But many U.S. lawmakers also aren't convinced JBS belongs on the New York Stock Exchange. In a letter sent last week to JBS, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, noted that Pilgrim's Pride — a U.S. company owned by JBS — was the largest single donor to President Donald Trump's inaugural committee, with a $5 million gift. The SEC's approval came just weeks after that donation, Warren said. 'I am concerned Pilgrim's Pride may have made its contribution to the inaugural fund to curry favor with the Trump administration,' Warren wrote in the letter, which asked the company why the donation was made. In a statement, JBS said it has a 'long bipartisan history of participating in the civic process.' Warren was also among a bipartisan group of 15 U.S. senators who sent a letter to the SEC in January 2024 urging the agency to reject a U.S. listing for JBS. The senators, a diverse group that rarely agrees on policy, included Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida and Josh Hawley of Missouri, Democrat Cory Booker of New Jersey and Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The letter noted that in 2020, J&F Investments, a controlling shareholder of JBS that is owned by the Batista family, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in U.S. federal court and agreed to pay fines of $256 million. It also said Pilgrim's Pride pleaded guilty to price-fixing charges in 2021. And it said U.S. Senate investigations found that JBS is 'turning a blind eye' to rainforest destruction in the Amazon by its suppliers. 'Approval of JBS' proposed listing would subject U.S. investors to risk from a company with a history of blatant, systemic corruption, and further entrench its monopoly power and embolden its monopoly practices,' the letter said. Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Associated Press
23-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Brazil's JBS asks shareholders to overlook opposition and approve a US stock listing
Making meat is a messy business. But for Brazilian meat giant JBS, getting approval to trade its shares on the New York Stock Exchange has been even messier. Environmentalists, animal rights groups, U.S. lawmakers and even some of its own investors have tried to stop a U.S. listing for JBS, noting the company's long record of corruption, monopolistic behavior and environmental destruction . But JBS has persevered, saying dual listings in Sao Paulo and New York would attract new investors and better reflect its global portfolio. Late last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission granted the company's request to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. JBS is one of the world's largest food companies , with more than 250 production facilities in 17 countries. Half of its annual revenue comes from the U.S. , where it has more than 72,000 employees . It's America's top beef producer and it's second-largest producer of poultry and pork. On Friday, JBS' minority shareholders – who hold 30% of its shares – are scheduled to vote on the dual-listing plan. If they approve it, the company could list its shares in New York as early as next month. Early vote totals, which JBS released Thursday in a filing in Brazil, showed that 52% of shareholders opposed the plan. But there were many more votes to be counted, so the outcome was far from clear. Last fall, 20 environmental organizations — including Mighty Earth, Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network — signed an open letter to JBS investors opposing the listing, saying it would put the climate at greater risk. Glass Lewis, an influential independent investor advisory firm, was also among those recommending that shareholders reject the plan. In its report, Glass Lewis said the recent return of brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista to the JBS board should concern investors. The brothers, who are the sons of JBS' founder, were briefly jailed in Brazil in 2017 on bribery and corruption charges. 'In our view, the involvement of the company and of Joesley and Wesley Batista in multiple high-profile scandals has tarnished the company's reputation, undermining stakeholder trust and posing a significant risk to its competitive position,' Glass Lewis said. Glass Lewis also objected to the company's plan for dual share classes, which would give the Batistas and other controlling shareholders more voting power. In its response to Glass Lewis' report, JBS said it has established more stringent controls and anti-corruption training at the company in recent years. It also said a U.S. listing would ensure more oversight from U.S. authorities. 'We believe this transaction will increase our visibility in global markets, attract new investors and further strengthen our position as a global food industry leader,' JBS Global CEO Gilberto Tomazoni said in a statement last month when the company announced Friday's vote. But many U.S. lawmakers also aren't convinced JBS belongs on the New York Stock Exchange. In a letter sent last week to JBS, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, noted that Pilgrim's Pride — a U.S. company owned by JBS — was the largest single donor to President Donald Trump's inaugural committee, with a $5 million gift. The SEC's approval came just weeks after that donation, Warren said. 'I am concerned Pilgrim's Pride may have made its contribution to the inaugural fund to curry favor with the Trump administration,' Warren wrote in the letter, which asked the company why the donation was made. In a statement, JBS said it has a 'long bipartisan history of participating in the civic process.' Warren was also among a bipartisan group of 15 U.S. senators who sent a letter to the SEC in January 2024 urging the agency to reject a U.S. listing for JBS. The senators, a diverse group that rarely agrees on policy, included Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida and Josh Hawley of Missouri, Democrat Cory Booker of New Jersey and Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The letter noted that in 2020, J&F Investments, a controlling shareholder of JBS that is owned by the Batista family, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in U.S. federal court and agreed to pay fines of $256 million. It also said Pilgrim's Pride pleaded guilty to price-fixing charges in 2021. And it said U.S. Senate investigations found that JBS is 'turning a blind eye' to rainforest destruction in the Amazon by its suppliers. 'Approval of JBS' proposed listing would subject U.S. investors to risk from a company with a history of blatant, systemic corruption, and further entrench its monopoly power and embolden its monopoly practices,' the letter said.
National Observer
05-05-2025
- General
- National Observer
Emma Rae Lierley
Emma Rae Lierley helps communities stop deforestation. As senior communications manager for the forests program at the Rainforest Action Network, this Vancouverite amplifies the voices of communities all over the world contending with corporations destroying their forest homes. By Patricia Lane Emma Rae Lierley
National Observer
05-05-2025
- General
- National Observer
Seeing and saving the forest for the trees
These in-their-own-words pieces are told to Patricia Lane and co-edited with input from the interviewee for the purpose of brevity. Emma Rae Lierley helps communities stop deforestation. As senior communications manager for the forests program at the Rainforest Action Network, this Vancouverite amplifies the voices of communities all over the world contending with corporations destroying their forest homes. Tell us about your work. Massive corporate greed is driving the destruction of rainforests for products like palm oil, soy, beef, pulp and paper, viscose used in clothing, timber and cocoa — to make items that line our local store shelves and to line the pockets of Wall Street bankers. Tropical rainforests teeming with life are burned, bulldozed and cleared to make room for monoculture crops. Brands we all recognize make products with a short life. But the damage to rainforests is long-lasting and far-reaching. We help grassroots organizations in places like Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil identify and hold accountable banks and mega-corporations, like Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, Nestle, PepsiCo and others, that create the demand or finance the destruction. Our campaigns pressure corporations and hold them accountable for the impact of their supply chains. We bring members of affected communities into their boardrooms and use advanced technology when it is needed to illustrate our concerns. Our efforts can take a long time, but we do succeed. For example, we recently provided some of these companies with high-resolution satellite images showing deforestation in an Indonesian protected area in the Leuser Rainforest. This area is the only remaining place on Earth where Sumatran orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants still coexist in the wild. Millions of people depend on it for their clean water, and it is the customary land of dozens of Indigenous communities. Supporting the human rights of Indigenous people is one of the very best ways to protect our planet. Emma Rae Lierley helps communities stop deforestation. As senior communications manager for the forests program at the Rainforest Action Network, this Vancouverite amplifies the voices of communities all over the world contending with corporations. Palm oil grown from trees planted in this illegally deforested area risks entering the supply chains of these major companies and also flies in the face of their own 'no deforestation' commitments. Some of these companies have immediately responded, cutting off their bad suppliers. Of course, we have to make sure they continue to remedy the destruction caused, and we'll be there to hold them accountable. What makes your work hard? We engage with some of the biggest companies in the world, but we are a small staff working with local people who often feel very vulnerable for good reason. Right-wing governments generally display less concern for conservation and human rights, which means more danger for land or forest defenders. We must wait until people are ready. Even then, our work takes time and so much destruction can happen during the wait. What keeps you awake at night? We work across the globe, so we are aware of climate-change-impacted events in many different places. We live in an era of climate collapse. The heat domes and massive wildfires and floods and smoke are all happening now. It is hard to see decision-makers move so slowly or in the wrong direction. What gives you hope? When communities succeed because they spoke out using both local and international people power, it is a great feeling. Everyone needs forests. Whether they are in your backyard or thousands of miles from you, they are cleaning the water and the air, and cooling our Earth. It matters to me that I get to play a part in protecting them. I have a toddler who is just starting to explore the world, and it's incredible to watch him discover all the beauty on this planet. I want to be able to tell him I helped leave it better than I found it. How did you get into this work? I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and spent entire summer days in the forests of Cascadia. These wild spaces are a part of me, and I want to protect what I love. I also love stories. My work allows me to combine those two passions as I help impacted communities tell their stories in ways that will inspire others, the corporations who can affect the supply chains and the donors and members of the public who will help make change. Is there anything you would like to say to other young people? You don't have to change jobs to make a difference. Wherever you find yourself, there is an opportunity to help. We need to build a future with a stable climate, justice and equity. We need everyone — artists, teachers, doctors, union workers. Figure out how you can bend whatever kind of work you do toward sustainability and justice, and do it! What about older readers? We need you. It is easy to justify inaction with stories like: 'It's always been this way,' or 'Nothing will change,' especially if you have been disappointed with inaction in the past. The great challenge is to use your wisdom, experience, time and money to work with us to build the future we need. What kind of ancestor will you be?
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Experts raise alarm after satellite images reveal mass destruction in key area: 'A wake-up call'
A new report showed that critically endangered orangutans are losing their Indonesian habitat to palm oil plantations, according to Mongabay. The U.S.-based Rainforest Action Network (RAN) used high-resolution satellite imagery to identify 6,368 acres of protected Indonesian rainforest that has been wiped out since 2015. In its place, 1,613 acres of palm plantations have been found. A 2020 European Union protection prohibiting goods grown on deforested land served only to accelerate ecosystem destruction in Indonesia. In its report, RAN detected a quadrupling of the deforestation rate between 2021 and 2023. "The ongoing destruction of one of the world's most critical ecosystems is a wake-up call for brands, banks, and consumers alike," said Gemma Tillack, forest policy director at RAN, per Mongabay. For starters, the reported deforestation is happening in Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, where the vast majority of critically endangered Sumatran orangutans live. Destroying their habitat further jeopardizes their likelihood of survival. Deforestation is also destroying peatland, which has been sequestering large amounts of carbon. Its area in Rawa Singkil has decreased by a fifth since 2014. Brands that have sourced palm oil from deforested areas may have been making goods in contravention of EU's deforestation law. Likewise, banks that support traders and growers in the area may be exposed. "Products we buy every day like Olay, Milo, Oreos, Lay's, and CupNoodles are being exposed to illegal palm oil in their supply chains, and we have the receipts to prove it," said Tillack, per Mongabay. Some companies have attempted to engage in agroforestry in Indonesia in order to meet food production needs while sharing the land with native trees, but those attempts have not been well-received. In response to the report, Procter & Gamble said it had suspended sourcing from the region, and Nestlé has begun investigations. Mondelēz, PepsiCo, and Nissin Foods may also be using palm oil grown in these deforested areas of Indonesia. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. On the consumer side, you can make eco-conscious purchases to avoid using products sourced from deforested areas. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
