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By Luciana Magalhaes and Ana Mano
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian meatpacker JBS on Friday secured shareholder support for a long-planned dual listing in the United States and Brazil, boosting its shares as analysts calculated a higher valuation in line with global peers.
Minority shareholders at a Friday assembly in Sao Paulo delivered enough votes to approve the dual listing, according to a securities filing. On Thursday, the company said a preliminary count showed about 52% of remote votes were against the plan, raising doubts about its chances.
Guilherme Cavalcanti, JBS's chief financial officer, told reporters the voting process on Friday was swift and a small group of lawyers cast votes on behalf of investors with significant shareholdings.
JBS shares rose 2% on the news, capping a 37% rally since mid-March as the proposal cleared several hurdles. It later pared gains and fell 1.4% at 41.67 reais.
Plans for a U.S. listing had been delayed repeatedly over the past decade, hindered by corruption scandals involving the company's top shareholders, brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista, as well as concerns about its environmental impacts and the transparency of its climate targets.
Since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the New York listing in late April, environmental groups and U.S. politicians have aired concerns.
Analysts and proxy advisory firms had debated the merits of the company's dual listing proposal.
Some advisory firms warned that a new dual-class share structure was likely to reduce the voting power of minority shareholders, but analysts touted the chance to bring its valuation in line with international peers.
Igor Guedes, an analyst at Genial Investimentos, said the dual listing would bring JBS stock valuation closer to peers such as Tyson Foods, a major U.S. rival.
He forecast JBS's enterprise value could rise to 7.5 times its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), compared to 5.8x currently, implying a potential appreciation of 29.3% for its shares.
With the plan approved, JBS shares are expected to have their last trading day in São Paulo on June 6, according to the company's CFO. The shares will be primarily listed in New York while Brazilian Depositary Receipts (BDR) will be traded on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange.
The company previously said JBS could debut on the NYSE on June 12.
JBS also intends to pursue inclusion in major international indexes, such as the S&P 500 and Russell, according to Cavalcanti. He also said the recent sale of shares by BNDESPar, the investment arm of Brazil's national development bank, may facilitate this process as it tends to increase the company's free-float.