BRF SA, Brazil’s biggest poultry producer, has raised 5.4 billion reais ($1.1 billion) in a share offering that lured investors including Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co.

BRF sold 500 million new shares at 9 reais apiece, a 5.7% discount to Thursday’s closing price, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public yet. An additional allotment of 100 million new shares was also sold, the people said.

BRF didn’t immediately reply to an emailed request for comment sent outside business hours.

The deal, Brazil’s biggest equity offering so far this year, drew preliminary interest from both Saudi Arabia’s state-owned fund and beef producer Marfrig Global Foods SA. Salic and Marfrig previously announced their plans to buy up to 250 million shares each in the share offering for as much as 9 reais each.

Marcos Molina dos Santos, the meat tycoon who founded Marfrig about two decades ago, could also take another step toward the combination of the protein producers, which he called “sister companies” in an interview with Bloomberg News earlier this year. Marfrig could end up with a stake of as much as 39% of BRF after the stock sale, up from a current 33%, according to estimates based on the offering’s prospectus.

BRF, one of the world’s biggest poultry exporters, is selling assets to reduce leverage amid a business overhaul that started after Molina became its biggest investor. The share sale will accelerate attempts to reduce its net debt, which stood at 15.3 billion reais as of last March.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. was the leading coordinator for the transaction. Other underwriters were Banco Bradesco BBI, Banco BTG Pactual, Citigroup, Banco Itau BBA, Banco Safra, UBS BB and XP Investimentos.

--With assistance from Gerson Freitas Jr..

Author: Vinícius Andrade