The Abernathy MacGregor Group is fronting the $4.7B acquisition of iconic American pork company Smithfield Foods by China's Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd., the No. 1 meat processor in China.
In the event the transaction passes U.S. regulatory scrutiny, the deal would rank as the largest Chinese takeover of a U.S. company.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. is among those expected to review the acquisition of the $13B owner of brands such as Smithfield, Armour, Cook’s, Gwaltney and John Morrell.
Smithfield CEO Larry Pope applauds the deal as a "great transaction for all Smithfield stakeholders, as well as for American farmers and U.S. agriculture."
He sees transaction as a way to tap Shuanghui's distribution market to offer Chinese consumers access to "competitively-priced and safe U.S. products."
Shuanghui, which is offering a 31% premium over Smithfield’s closing stock price, promises to "maintain the excellence in Smithfield's brands and strategic priorities." Pope is to remain chief.
The Luter family opened its packing plant in Smithfield, Va., in 1936. The town grew to be known as the "ham capital of the world."
Pope succeeded Joe Luter III as CEO of Smithfield in 2006.
AMG’s Dan Hilley and Chuck Dohrenwend work with U.S. media for Shuanghui, while Amy Feng deals with the investment community. Havas owns AMG.
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher handles media for Smithfield. That team includes Andy Brimmer, Matthew Sherman and Andrew Siegel.
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