US pork giant Smithfield agrees Chinese takeover

Shareholders of US pork giant Smithfield Foods approved on Tuesday the company's $7.1 billion purchase by China's Shuanghui International, the largest-ever Chinese takeover of a US company. The deal received 96 percent of the votes cast at a special shareholders meeting, despite an earlier challenge by a key investor arguing the deal undervalued Smithfield. Smithfield president and chief executive Larry Pope called the deal "a great transaction for all Smithfield stakeholders, as well as for American farmers and US agriculture." Shuanghui, a leading Chinese meat processor, will pay $4.5 billion in cash, $34 a share, for Smithfield, the world's largest combined pig raiser and pork processor and an iconic name in American kitchens. Including Smithfield debt, the deal's value comes to $7.1 billion.