Smithfield Foods prices IPO below range in US market comeback

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Smithfield Foods prices IPO below range in US market comeback

(Reuters) – Smithfield Foods, the largest pork processor in the U.S., said it priced its initial public offering well below its forecast range, raising $521.7 million for the company and the selling stockholder.

The IPO valued the pork producer at $7.95 billion, ahead of a market debut that will see the company return to a U.S. exchange after more than a decade.

The offering was priced at $20 per share, Smithfield said, below the $23-$27 per share range that would have raised as much as $939.6 million.

Smithfield raised $260.9 million in the offering, while the rest was raised by the selling stockholder, a unit of its parent company WH Group.

Part of the proceeds from the IPO will go to Hong Kong-based WH Group, which is expected to remain a majority shareholder.

Coming close on the heels of Venture Global’s mega IPO that failed to meet lofty expectations last week, Smithfield’s debut could set the tone for other candidates mulling a listing in the coming months.

It may also offer some insight into how investors are factoring in risks from tariffs proposed by President Donald Trump. The company employs around 2,500 people in Mexico, and has identified tariffs as a risk factor in its IPO prospectus.

However, its long history and profitability may boost its appeal as investors have leaned towards backing tried-and-tested companies over riskier startups over the past two years.

Its shares will start trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “SFD” on Tuesday.

Founded in 1936, Smithfield began as a pork processing operation named The Smithfield Packing Company. Its portfolio of brands include Eckrich and Nathan’s Famous.

The company was listed in New York from 1999 until 2013, when WH Group acquired it for $4.7 billion, in what was the biggest ******** takeover of a U.S. firm at the time.

Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities and Goldman Sachs are the lead underwriters for the offering.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Disha Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Janane Venkatraman and Varun H K)

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