The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) pocketed almost R$1.9 billion on Wednesday with the sale of another slice of its shares in JBS. In a block trade coordinated by BTG Pactual, the state-owned bank disposed of 50 million shares. Since December, BNDESPar, the bank’s equity arm, has raised more than R$4.5 billion with the sale of JBS shares.
The shares were traded at R$37.52, the price of the firm guarantee given by BTG. A source who followed the operation said that JBS bought shares again, which signals that the meatpacking giant still sees a large discount on its market capitalization.
In December, when BNDES started divestments in JBS with the sale of 70 million shares, the company took virtually all the shares for R$38.01 each, disbursing more than R$2.5 billion. BofA was the coordinator of the block trade.
With this Wednesday’s sale, BNDES reduces the position in JBS to less than 20%. The bank’s bet on the company was quite profitable. Since 2007, BNDESPar has invested R$8.1 billion in JBS, overperforming Brazil’s benchmark stock index Ibovespa, interbank deposit rate CDI and the goal of the development bank’s pension fund.
As the BNDES continues to reduce its position in the company over the next few months, JBS will be able to get rid of the overhang that weighs on its shares.
Analysts believe that JBS is trading at a discount considering the positive moment, especially in the United States. Last week, analysts Thiago Duarte and Henrique Brustolin, with BTG Pactual, revised the target price for the stock to R$55 from R$50, which embeds a potential for appreciation of more than 45% over current prices.
According to the analysts, JBS shares trade at a multiple of 3.7 times the projected EBITDA for 2022 and 4.6 times for 2023, which is 20% below the historical level.
JBS is currently valued at R$88 billion on the stock exchange. The BNDES’s position is worth R$17 billion.
Source: Valor International