The court-appointed receiver in the Conexión Ganadera insolvency proceedings, Alfredo Ciavattone, recommended accepting a US$ 2.1 million offer to acquire the Bamidal meatpacking plant, which belonged to Gustavo Basso and is currently being liquidated.
The judge granted a six-business-day period for a competing offer at least 10% higher to be submitted before authorizing the direct sale, which includes the property in the city of Paso de los Toros, machinery and trademarks, El Observador reported.
The offer was submitted by Uniao Comercial S.A.S. (UCSAS), led by Luis Beltrán, a former Bamidal director and joint guarantor of its debts with BTG Pactual bank, formerly HSBC, with financial backing from that institution. Beltrán holds a 2% minority stake in the industrial plant.
Judge Leonardo Méndez opened the proposal for consideration for six business days. If no offer at least 10% higher is submitted, the direct sale will be authorized, according to El Observador.
The bid includes nearly all the assets: the Paso de los Toros property where the plant operates, the photovoltaic installation, machinery, equipment, vehicles, trademarks and management software. The buyer will not assume any liabilities incurred before or after the insolvency proceedings.
As a condition of the transaction, the buyer undertakes to rehire 80 workers as of October 1, 2026, preserving their seniority, job categories and salaries, and to create an employment pool for the remaining staff.
The receiver based his recommendation on the lack of alternatives—a previous tender had received no bids—and on the risk that the assets could deteriorate. He warned that selling the assets individually through a court process would probably not be enough to cover even the mortgage debt owed to the bank, Bamidal’s main creditor.
The plant, located in Paso de los Toros, Tacuarembó, was acquired by Basso in 2019 with the aim of turning it into a meatpacking plant specializing exclusively in sheep. It employed as many as 160 workers before slaughter operations were halted in February 2025.
Bamidal filed for voluntary insolvency proceedings in April 2025 and entered the liquidation stage in October of that year.
