Smithfield Foods has today (18 December) announced that the merger of its European subsidiary Groupe Smithfield and Spanish meat group Campofrío Alimentacion has been finalised.
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The new company, to be known as Campofrio Food Group, will be listed on the Madrid and Barcelona stock exchanges.
The merger creates the largest pan-European company in the packaged meats sector and one of the five largest worldwide.
Smithfield owns 37% or around 37.8 million shares of the new company. Previously Smithfield owned 24% of Campofrio and 50% of Groupe Smithfield.
Other shareholders include Oaktree Capital (24%), Pedro and Fernando Ballve (12%), Diaz Family and Luis Serrano (5%), Caja Burgos (4%) and QMC (2%).
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By GlobalDataThe remaining 16% will be held by the public.
“This is a major step in Smithfield’s strategy to grow and improve its global packaged meats presence. The companies have complimentary manufacturing and marketing platforms, presenting the opportunity for value creation and synergies,” said Smithfield president and CEO Larry Pope. “The merger produces the leading player in the European packaged meats market, with leading brands in every market in which we operate.”
Pope said that the transaction converts Smithfield’s western European ventures into a “more liquid investment”, with its shares in the publicly-traded company having a market value of over US$350m, based on closing price on 2 December.
