Smithfield US homecoming looks like a pig in a poke

WH

30/10/2023 02:45

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are his own.)
    By Chan Ka Sing
       HONG KONG, Oct 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China’s
biggest pork firm may relist its US unit in New York. With $7.6
bln in market cap, investors don’t seem to attach much value to
its 2013 buy. Moving West is a hedge against geopolitics, but a
revaluation is unlikely if the Washington-Beijing relationship
remains fraught.  
    Full view will be published shortly.
    
    CONTEXT NEWS
    WH Group is working with banks to spin off its U.S.-based
pork processing unit Smithfield Foods and is planning a listing
that could happen early next year, the Wall Street Journal
reported on Oct. 19. 
    The Chinese pork giant bought Smithfield in 2013 for $7.1
billion, including debt, in what was the biggest takeover of an
American company by a private sector Chinese firm at the time. 

 (Editing by Lisa Jucca and Katrina Hamlin)
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