CJ CheilJedang to sell off its Brazilian soybean crusher

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang Corp. said Tuesday it will sell its full ownership in Brazilian soybean crusher CJ Selecta S.A., or a 66% stake, to grain products maker Bunge Alimentos S.A., the Brazilian unit of US food company Bunge, at an estimated 480.5 billion won ($356.3 million). 

Bunge Alimentos is the Brazilian unit of US food company Bunge.

CJ Selecta produces and supplies vegetable proteins to the animal feed, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The company posted 1.13 trillion won in revenue last year.

CJ CheilJedang acquired Brazilian leading soy protein concentrate maker Selecta at 360 billion won in 2017 and changed the company’s name to CJ Selecta.  

The Korean food giant stated it seeks to intensify its bio businesses and improve management efficiency via the sale. It is in talks with Bunge Alimentos to finalize the date of the transaction.  

CJ CheilJedang is accelerating its bio business as a long-term growth driver. In May, its biocompatible polyester materials received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as food packaging material.

In March, the Korean company’s unit CJ Bio invested an undisclosed amount of capital in Australian biotech Provectus Algae to manufacture high-value chemicals, specialty ingredients and biologics such as pigments, flavors, amino acids and peptides.  

Write to Kyeong-je Han at hankyung@hankyung.com


Jihyun Kim edited this article.