Finance
Big Beef Loan Scrapped Amid Uproar Over Amazon Deforestation
- IDB Invest was lead on $200 million syndicated loan to Marfrig
- Loan now inactive after disagreements on environmental targets
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A $200 million loan for Marfrig Global Foods SA has fallen apart amid growing concern that Brazil’s second-biggest beef producer is fueling deforestation in the Amazon.
The Inter-American Development Bank’s private-sector arm shelved a plan to lead the syndicated loan after a series of setbacks. First, a vote on the financing was pushed from December to May, according to two people familiar with the matter. The bank couldn’t agree with the company on environmental targets, as well as the financial terms of the loan, said one of the people. Now, the loan is inactive, according to IDB’s website, and will no longer go up for a vote.