Dive Summary:
- Smithfield Foods Inc. will be purchased by Chinese meat processor Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd. for around $4.72 billion.
- The deal will see China's largest meat processing enterprise take the owner of such brands as Armour and Farmland private, with Smithfield shareholders receiving $34 per share--31% more than Tuesday's closing price of $25.97.
- There will be no closures at Smithfield's facilities and locations, with the existing management team remaining in place and Shuanghui continuing to honor workers' collective bargaining agreements.
From the article:
... "This transaction preserves the same old Smithfield, only with more opportunities and new markets and new frontiers," Smithfield CEO Larry Pope said in a conference call. "This is not a strategy to import Chinese pork into the United States ... this is exporting America to the world." ...
