中文title: “JBS and VIVA Merge Leather Divisions to Create Global Giant JBS VIVA: What It Means for the Industry” original_url: “https://leathernews.org/jbs-couros-and-viva-group-announce-merger-of-leather-business-forming-new-company-jbs-viva/” source: “Leather News”
JBS and VIVA Merge Leather Divisions to Create Global Giant JBS VIVA: What It Means for the Industry
The global leather industry just witnessed its most significant structural shift in decades. On November 25, 2025, JBS Couros and the VIVA Group formally announced the merger of their leather businesses, creating a new entity called JBS VIVA that instantly becomes the world’s largest leather processing company.
A Colossus Born from Collaboration
The numbers alone tell a staggering story. JBS VIVA will operate 31 factories spanning six countries — Brazil, Italy, Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico and Vietnam — employing over 11,000 workers. The combined entity plans to process more than 20 million hides annually, a volume that fundamentally rewrites the competitive landscape.
The ownership structure reflects genuine partnership: a 50-50 split between JBS and the VIVA Group, which includes shareholders Vanz and Viposa. Board representation mirrors this balance, with JBS nominating the chairman and CFO while VIVA selects the CEO and COO. This is not a takeover masquerading as a merger; it is a genuine union of equals.
Why This Matters Beyond the Headlines
JBS Couros has long been recognised for its innovation-driven approach. Over the years, it launched more than 2,000 SKUs with varied textures, colours and designs to keep pace with rapidly shifting fashion demands. Gilberto Tomazoni, JBS’s Global CEO, framed the merger as a transformative opportunity: “The union with VIVA opens up new opportunities for all more than 7,000 JBS Couros employees who are now part of an even more robust business prepared to compete globally.”
What makes this merger particularly consequential is the strategic positioning it enables. Guilherme Motta, Leader of JBS Couros, emphasised that the leather chain remains strategic for JBS, reinforcing the vision that sustainability and profitability go hand in hand. His observation that leather — a natural co-product of the bovine protein chain — “takes on new life when transformed into a wide range of products” underscores a sustainability narrative that the merged entity will likely amplify.
The Competitive Ripple Effect
For smaller tanneries and regional leather producers, JBS VIVA’s emergence raises urgent questions. A company processing 20 million hides annually commands pricing power, supply chain leverage and market access that few competitors can match. The merger could accelerate a consolidation trend already visible in the industry, where mid-sized players either scale up through acquisition or specialise in niche markets to survive.
For luxury brands and automotive manufacturers, the merger presents both opportunity and risk. A single, dominant supplier can offer consistency and scale, but dependence on one mega-producer introduces supply chain vulnerability. Brands that currently split their leather sourcing between JBS Couros and VIVA Group facilities will now find those sources unified under one corporate umbrella.
Regulatory and Sustainability Dimensions
The deal still requires regulatory approval before it becomes official. Antitrust authorities in multiple jurisdictions will scrutinise a merger that concentrates such significant processing capacity. Environmental regulators may also examine the combined entity’s sustainability commitments, particularly given JBS’s recent challenges around Scope 3 emissions targets.
JBS VIVA says it intends to reshape the global leather market by combining deep experience, strong production scale and a clear focus on sustainability. Whether these ambitions translate into tangible environmental improvements — or whether the sheer scale of the operation makes genuine sustainability harder to achieve — remains the industry’s most pressing question.
Looking Ahead
The formation of JBS VIVA is more than a corporate restructuring. It is a statement about the future direction of the global leather trade: bigger, more integrated, more competitive, and under greater scrutiny. For everyone in the supply chain — from raw hide suppliers to finished leather buyers — this merger demands a strategic reassessment.
The companies that adapt fastest to this new reality will thrive. Those that cling to pre-merger assumptions about market structure may find the landscape has shifted beneath them.
Source: Leather News — https://leathernews.org/jbs-couros-and-viva-group-announce-merger-of-leather-business-forming-new-company-jbs-viva/
