Smithfield Foods Inc. had another suitor before agreeing to a buyout by Hong Kong-based Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd., according to a proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The bidder, described only as a publicly traded, non-US company, was unable to announce a bid before June 13, thus ending the talks between the bidder and Smithfield, according to the proxy statement.
Smithfield didn't identify the other bidder, but Businessweek is reporting that Charoen Pokphand Foods Pcl in Thailand and Sáo Paulo, Brazil-based JBS SA were preparing bids for the company before accepting Shuanghui's offer of $7.1 billion, including assumption of debt.
The proxy statement also revealed that Smithfield submitted an offer on March 25 for a "potential packaged meats acquisition", which was rejected on April 10. Speculation is the acquisition target was Hillshire Brands.
