The FINANCIAL — IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is investing $40 million in BS&C Empreendimentos e Participações S.A. (WOW! Nutrition), one of the largest companies in the sector of non-carbonated and non-alcoholic beverages in Brazil. This investment will help promote the growth of the food sector, which plays an important role in the country’s economic activity, employment generation, and trade balance.
IFC’s financial package is comprised of a $25 million equity investment and a 5-year $15 million loan. The investment will support WOW! Nutrition’s plans for growth, which include the expansion of its packaging lines. This will also help WOW! Nutrition improve efficiency by streamlining existing operational processes, and to increase competitiveness by strengthening its capital structure. IFC’s investment will play a role in supporting the growth of the food and beverages sector in Brazil, which accounts for 9% of Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs over 1.7 million people, according to IFC.
WOW! Nutrition produces and distributes juices and nectars, iced tea, soy-based beverages, artificial sweeteners, diet products, and infant nutrition products. With two sites, one in the state of São Paulo and one in the state of Amazonas, WOW! Nutrition obtains most of its inputs from domestic fruit producers and families in the Amazon region. The company has a relevant impact in the downstream of its supply chain, as it provides strong support to its distributors, helping them better manage their sales and assess demand, thus increasing profitability and competitiveness.
According to Ricardo de Oliveira Machado, COO of WOW! Nutrition, “WOW! Nutrition is very excited to have IFC as a partner. This investment will help us implement our plans to continue expanding our business in the next years under competitive financial conditions, and will also help us improve our corporate governance and sustainability standards.”
“We are excited to have WOW! Nutrition as client and partner,” said Luiz Daniel de Campos, Principal Investment Officer, Agribusiness Department, IFC Brazil. “This investment is aligned with IFC’s strategy for the food and agribusiness sector, which has a great potential for creating jobs and expanding access to quality food products in Brazil. WOW! Nutrition’s expected growth will create additional jobs and increase the demand for agricultural products from its supply chain”, he added.
IFC promotes inclusive economic development in agribusiness by financing its complete value chain. In fiscal year 2016, IFC invested globally $3.4 billion in the entire agribusiness chain to help increase production liquidity, improve logistics, and expand access to credit for small farmers. In that same fiscal year, IFC’s global portfolio in agribusiness totaled $4.9 billion. In Brazil alone, IFC has invested $620 million in the agribusiness and food sectors during the last four years.
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