Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE: SFD) announced yesterday that it had entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets and business of Gorges/Quik-to-Fix Foods, Inc. for approximately $34 million in cash. The agreement was approved on Friday, July 13, 2001, by the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware overseeing the Quik-to-Fix bankruptcy proceeding.
With annual sales of $140 million, Quik-to-Fix is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of value-added beef, pork and poultry products for the retail and food service industry. The company manufactures a broad range of fully cooked and ready-to-eat products, which it markets on a regional and national level. The company’s products are marketed primarily under the Quik- to-Fix and Gorges brands. Customers include several major retail chains, as well as numerous national foodservice distributors.
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“This acquisition represents another step in our strategy to develop and market products in the value-added, further processed ready-to-eat category,” said C. Larry Pope, vice president and chief financial officer. “We are excited about the opportunities Quik-to-Fix can provide to broaden the product base for our operating subsidiaries.”
The transaction is expected to close in July.
Smithfield Foods has delivered a 28 percent average annual compounded rate of return to investors since 1975. In the last 15 years, the company’s share price has outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 350 percent. With annual sales of $6 billion, Smithfield Foods is the leading processor and marketer of fresh pork and processed meats in the United States, as well as the largest producer of hogs. For more information, please visit http://www.smithfieldfoods.com .
FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION
This news release may contain “forward-looking” information within the meaning of the federal securities laws. The forward-looking information may include statements concerning the Company’s outlook for the future, as well as other statements of beliefs, future plans and strategies or anticipated events, and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. The forward-looking information and statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks and uncertainties include availability and prices of live hogs, raw materials and supplies, live hog production costs, product pricing, the competitive environment and related market conditions, operating efficiencies, access to capital, the cost of compliance with environmental and health standards, adverse results from ongoing litigation and actions of domestic and foreign governments.
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