By Carolina Mandl
FLORIANOPOLIS, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The chief investment officer of Brazilian pension fund Previ said on Tuesday the fund needed more details to approve a proposed deal between Embraer SA EMBR3.SA and Boeing (NYSE:BA) Co. BA.N .
The fund, a shareholder in Embraer, was favorable "in principle" towards the deal, but needed details on how much debt and which assets would be transferred to the new company in which Boeing would have an 80 percent stake, CIO Marcus Moreira said on the sidelines of a pension fund conference.
Previ has a 3.9 percent stake in Embraer, but according to intricate Embraer bylaws, the votes of Brazilian shareholders should represent 60 percent of total votes. That effectively gives the fund's votes six times the weight of the vote of foreign shareholders, Reuters reported in July. small investors have complained that the proposed $4.75 billion joint venture effectively would give Boeing control of Embraer's main business without having to pay the 50 percent premium called for in a poison pill in the planemaker's bylaws. Top foreign shareholders have so far kept mum on the issue.
Another Previ executive, Renato Proença, said he in principle agreed with the joint venture, especially after the acquisition of a Bombardier Inc unit by Airbus SE.
"But we need to analyze the deal structure", he said.
Embraer shares were up 0.7 percent at 20.05 reais in late morning trading as investors perceived the Previ remarks as favorable to the approval.
CIO Moreira also commented on the situation of the world's largest poultry exporter, BRF SA BRFS3.SA , in which the fund is a major shareholder.
He said the company is expected to take up to five years to recover from fallout of a food safety scandal, export restrictions and accumulating losses. company is working to reduce its debt load, but needs to focus on a new strategy to fully recover," he said.
BRF shares were down 1.8 percent in late morning trading in Sao Paulo, at 21.27 reais; the stock has accumulated a 50 percent loss over the last 12 months.