SÃO PAULO, Brazil – CADE, Brazil's antitrust agency, approved the purchase of Seara Brasil by JBS S.A. The agency approved the deal without restrictions.

Sao Paulo, Brazil-based JBS must wait 15 days to close the transaction. The company expects to wrap up the deal by Sept. 30. The deal is worth an estimated R$5.85 billion ($2.5 billion).


Seara Brasil is a poultry producer owned by Marfrig Alimentos. The acquisition includes processed foods, poultry and pork processing plants, along with 21 distribution centers, according to JBS. The purchase would see JBS overtake Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods Inc. as the top poultry producer globally. JBS already is the world's largest meat processor.

"The Seara acquisition represents an important increase in the production capacity of poultry, pork and processed foods at JBS," the company said in a statement. "Including the new facilities, JBS will process 12 million birds, 70,000 hogs, 100,000 hides and 5,000 tons of processed foods per day globally, with a total of 185,000 employees worldwide."