JBS Group is negotiating the purchase of Delta.
The agreement between Fernando Cavendish's construction company (right) and Joesley Batista's company (left) was allegedly handled by former Central Bank president Henrique Meirelles, who heads the JF holding company, which controls JBS; more than 30% of the group's capital belongs to BNDES.
247 – The construction company Delta, one of the main companies involved in the illegal scheme run by gambling boss Carlinhos Cachoeira, has been put up for sale to avoid its closure. According to information from Folha, JBS is interested in the acquisition, which would be handled by former Central Bank president Henrique Meirelles, who heads the holding company's board of directors.
Read more in the report by Natuza Nery and Cátia Seabra, from Folha de São Paulo:
At the center of the scandal involving Carlinhos Cachoeira, the construction company Delta was put up for sale in an attempt to save the company's operations.
According to information obtained by Folha from people with access to the operation, the JBS group has expressed interest in the acquisition.
When contacted, businessman Joesley Batista, president of the holding company that controls the JBS meatpacking company, said he could not comment on the case: "Wow! I can't talk about that."
Delta, however, chose not to comment on the matter.
According to those following the case, the negotiations are being handled by former Central Bank president Henrique Meirelles, who heads the holding company's board of directors. Meirelles could not be reached for comment.
Until yesterday, there was guidance that the operation should not be confirmed, under penalty of jeopardizing any business deals for Delta, a leader in PAC contracts and the largest recipient of funds from the Executive branch. The intention to sell the group had been published by the newspaper "O Globo" last Saturday.
Fernando Cavendish, the majority shareholder and president on leave from Delta due to the scandal, admitted in an interview with Folha in April the risk of the company going bankrupt after the Federal Police's Operation Monte Carlo and the establishment of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into businessman Carlinhos Cachoeira.
Wiretaps by the Federal Police indicate that the former director of the company in the Midwest was Cachoeira's business partner. Money from the construction company was channeled into Cachoeira's shell companies, which in turn funded political campaigns.
Delta has been trying to focus any alleged irregularities on the former director. But other wiretaps show that Cavendish was guiding the former director, and other company executives appear to be linked to the scheme.
The construction company has already left the consortium responsible for the Transcarioca project (express bus corridor), which will connect Barra da Tijuca to Ilha do Governador, and the project to renovate the Maracanã stadium. The construction company may face difficulties obtaining credit from the financial system.
With the purchase, the JBS group would expand its operations into the construction industry.