SAO PAULO, May 15 (Reuters) - Brazilian beef processor

Marfrig announced on Thursday a plan to complete its

takeover of poultry and pork processor BRF, while

teasing plans to eventually list shares of the combined entity

in the United States.

The move caps a long-running strategy by Marfrig, which

already owns just over 50% of BRF, gaining scale to compete with

Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS, which is nearing a

move to list its shares in New York. All three firms are now

listed in Sao Paulo.

In public disclosures, Marfrig and BRF said the proposed

deal would involve a share swap whereby BRF shareholders would

receive 0.8521 shares of Marfrig for each BRF share they own.

The move also entails creation of a company to be called

MBRF, which will also control Marfrig-owned National Beef, a

meat processor based in the United States that will also be

integrated into the new corporate structure.

In a joint statement, the companies said they expected

805 million reais ($142 million) of annual synergies from the

tie-up, with 400 million to 500 million reais captured in the

first year. Shareholders are set to vote June 18 on the

proposal.

Executives at BRF told analysts the move is aimed at

building on both companies' strengths, giving them more power to

compete with giant food producers on the global stage.

CFO Fabio Mariano said MBRF could move its fiscal domicile

and list shares in New York at some point. First, he said the

merging companies need to focus on extracting "synergies" from

the new structure.

In May 2021, Marfrig bought almost a quarter of BRF's

shares, becoming then its top shareholder, but saying at the

time it would remain a passive shareholder. Gradually, Marfrig

increased its stake in the company to the current 50.49%.

The companies had combined net sales of 152 billion reais

($26.75 billion) in the last 12 months, with 38% coming from

processed food products with a higher value.

Shares of both companies rose in Sao Paulo trading on

Thursday, outperforming sector peers including Minerva

and JBS.

BRF's shares closed 4.78% higher at 20.62 reais, but at one

point in the session rose over 7%. Marfrig was up by 4.34% to

20.66 reais.

($1 = 5.6817 reais)