Sao Paulo | Reuters –– Brazil securities regulator CVM on Tuesday lifted its suspension of the initial public offering for JBS SA’s processed food unit, JBS Foods, as long as the company holds off taking orders for investment until after Christmas.

CVM suspended the share offering Nov. 24, after the company’s CEO breached regulations by making comments about the deal in a local newspaper.

An economic recession and an unpredictable presidential election have led several companies including JBS to delay or cancel planned share offerings this year, which has seen only one IPO so far in the Brazilian market.

JBS is looking to raise around four billion reais (C$1.8 billion) from the IPO of JBS Foods, which accounted for nearly 10 per cent of JBS’s US$40 billion in revenue last year.

JBS Foods plans to list on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange’s Novo Mercado, which has tougher governance standards and requires that a company list at least 25 per cent of its shares.

— Reporting for Reuters by Aluisio Alves and Brad Haynes.