Dive Brief:

• The sale of Smithfield Foods Inc. to Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd. closed Thursday, days after shareholders approved the $34 per share deal, completing the largest ever acquisition of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm.
• According to Smithfield, the deal will boost American agriculture and provide a new export opportunity, though China has been plagued by serious food safety problems—and Shuaghui hasn't been exempt.
• Smithfield will retain its management team and Shuanghui will continue to honor workers' labor agreements

Dive Insight:

The closing of this deal ends months of regulatory process—and other bumps in the road including a holdout investor—surrounding one of the biggest deals in food industry history, but this isn't likely to be the last we've heard. U.S. critics of the deal are sure to continue keeping a close eye on Shuanghui going forward due to China's past food safety issues, and the purported benefits of the deal are likewise unlikely to escape the microscope in the near future.