Giant beef processor JBS S.A. will soon control 10 percent of the global beef market. In a stunning announcement this week, JBS said it has acquired two U.S. packing companies, an Australian packer and the world's largest cattle-feeding company. Joesley Mendonca Batista, president of the São Paulo, Brazil-based JBS, said company sales will rise to $22 billion a year once the transactions are complete, compared with $12 billion now. JBS says it will pay $1.27 billion in cash and stock for Smithfield Foods Inc.'s beef unit, Tasman Group in Australia and control of closely held National Beef Packing Co. in the United States. The deal also includes the purchase of Five Rivers Ranch, the world's largest cattle-feeding operation, which Smithfield jointly owns with ContiGroup Companies.

- Drovers Alert