The investment arm of BNDES, Brazil's state-owned bank, has asked JBS SA to convene a shareholder meeting to remove the controlling Batista family from the company's management and board,
Reuters reported.
BNDES Participações SA holds a 22% stake in the company, the report said. Patriarch José Batista Sobrinho and his son Wesley Mendonça Batista, the CEO, serve on the board. The family owns 42% of the company.
Minority shareholders aligned with the investment arm want the Batistas to compensate them for a drop in share value, saying that the company's reputation has been hurt, the article said. Wesley and his brother Joesley have admitted to bribing politicians.
Meanwhile, a Brazilian judge has blocked the planned $300 million sale of JBS's South American unit to Minerva SA, and the attorney general's office has called for the company's and family's assets to be frozen,
Reuters reported.
Federal Judge Ricardo Leite sits on the court that will review a plea bargain the Batistas reached with prosecutors. Under the deal, Wesley and Joseley Batista would avoid prosecution if they turned in 1,893 politicians involved in a bribery scheme, the Reuters report said. Earlier, the Batistas agreed to pay a fine of 10.3 billion reais ($3.1 billion) over 25 years. (Source: Reuters, June 22, 2017 and June 21, 2017.)
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