UPDATE 2-Brazil's JBS concludes purchase of Cargill pork unit

(Adds Cargill comment)
SAO PAULO/CHICAGO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Brazilian meatpacker
JBS SA JBSS3.SA has concluded its $1.45 billion acquisition of
Cargill Inc's CARG.UL U.S. pork assets without any
restrictions from regulators, it said on Friday, making it one
of the largest meat companies in the United States.
The deal closed on the earlier end of the forecast JBS gave
in early July, when officials said they expected antitrust
approval of the pork assets to clear within four to seven
months. In August, JBS raised $1.2 billion in the syndicated
loan market to help fund the acquisition.
The U.S. Justice Department on Friday declined to comment on
the deal. JBS USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA, did not
return requests for comment.
The deal includes Cargill's two meat processing plants in
Iowa and Illinois, as well as five feed mills in Missouri,
Arkansas, Iowa and Texas and four hog farms in Arkansas,
Oklahoma and Texas.
The transition was already under way at the two plants in
Beardstown, Illinois, and Ottumwa, Iowa.
While pork products were still shipping out of the plants to
customers on Friday, both were shuttered for slaughtering hogs,
Cargill spokesman Michael Martin said.
"The sale closed today and we're in the process of that
transition," Martin said.
JBS USA is a leading processor of beef, pork and lamb, as
well as a majority shareholder in chicken processor Pilgrim's
Pride Corp.
By adding Cargill's hog slaughter capacity, JBS USA becomes
the second-largest pork packer in the country - just behind
Smithfield Foods Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of China-based
pork processor WH Group Ltd 0288.HK .
Industry data puts JBS USA as controlling about 22 percent
of the U.S. beef market and about 18 percent of the U.S. poultry
market, the second-largest player in both sectors behind Tyson
Foods Inc TSN.N .