By Brazil Stock Guide – Mantiqueira USA, the joint venture between the Pinto Family and JBS N.V. (NYSE: JBS; B3: JBSS32), has signed a binding agreement to acquire Hickman’s Egg Ranch, one of the largest egg producers in the U.S. Southwest and ranked among the top 20 egg companies nationwide. The transaction represents Mantiqueira’s official entry into the U.S. market and reinforces JBS’s strategy to broaden its presence across complementary protein segments in the world’s most competitive food market.
Founded in 1944 by Nell Hickman, Hickman’s grew from a small family operation into a regional icon, with a shell-egg processing capacity of more than three-quarters of a million eggs per hour and strong distribution across the Mountain and West Coast regions. Still family-owned, the company is known for quality, deep customer relationships and its role as a local standard-bearer for fresh eggs.
“Expanding into the United States has long been a vision for our family, and taking this step through Hickman’s makes this moment especially meaningful,” said Leandro Pinto, founder of Mantiqueira. He noted that combining Hickman’s regional expertise with Mantiqueira’s and JBS’s global scale creates a solid foundation for long-term growth.
Murilo Scarpa Pinto, President of Mantiqueira USA, said the acquisition establishes a complementary platform, uniting Hickman’s heritage, quality and customer loyalty with Mantiqueira’s global resources and industrial capabilities. Wesley Batista Filho, CEO of JBS USA, emphasized that entering the egg market represents “an important strategic milestone” for JBS in the United States.
The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, is expected to close by year-end pending customary conditions. Hickman’s CEO Glenn Hickman said the integration should create new opportunities for customers, employees and partners.
Background
Hickman’s, located in Avondale, Arizona, endured a severe operational shock in 2025, losing about 95% of its hens — nearly 6 million birds — during a highly pathogenic avian-influenza (HPAI) outbreak in Arizona. Glenn Hickman said the event brought “the loss of life for the hens, the loss of jobs for hundreds of employees and the loss of an invaluable food resource both locally and far beyond the Valley.”
The outbreak occurred amid a nationwide wave that has affected more than 170 million birds and over 1,000 dairy herds across the U.S., making it one of the most disruptive animal-health events in decades. Hickman noted that the crisis could have been mitigated with broader vaccination, arguing that while the U.S. has issued conditional approval for certain avian-influenza vaccines, large-scale commercial vaccination has not been authorized.
The USDA has cited concerns over export restrictions, strain-matching, and surveillance challenges, while continuing to invest in vaccine R&D through its five-pillar HPAI response strategy.
The issue had already entered national politics during the 2024 presidential campaign, when Donald Trump and Joe Biden clashed over inflation and food costs — with egg prices becoming a symbolic flashpoint in the debate.
Mantiqueira USA is controlled by the Pinto Family, founders of Mantiqueira Alimentos S.A., South America’s largest egg producer and one of the largest globally. Created in the 1980s, the group built a vertically integrated, highly automated operation with strong animal-welfare standards, becoming a global reference before forming the joint venture with JBS to expand into the U.S. market.
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