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Pastimes : Swine -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: accountclosed who wrote (65)	9/2/1999 1:27:00 PM
From: Cynic 2005	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1401

We have enough of these on SI, why rise more of them? -g- --------- Thursday September 2, 12:37 pm Eastern Time Smithfield to buy Murphy Farms, double hog output SMITHFIELD, Va., Sept 2 (Reuters) - The country's No. 1 fresh-pork processor, Smithfield Foods Inc.(Nasdaq:SFDS - news), on Thursday said it would buy privately held hog producer Murphy Farms Inc. and its affiliates in a deal that would allow it to double its hog production capacity. Smithfield, which did not specify the terms or total price of the acquisition, said it would swap 10 million of its shares and acquire $170 million of Murphy's debt and liabilities. Based on Smithfield's Wednesday market close, the deal is worth about $460 million in stock and debt. In morning trading, Smithfield shares eased 25/32 to 28-3/16 on the Nasdaq. The acquisition continues the trend of consolidation in the hog industry. Smithfield has been a consolidator, having recently acquired Carroll's Foods -- a deal that made it the top U.S. hog producer. The company plans to lead the future consolidation in the industry, it said. Smithfield has been buying hogs from the Rose Hill, N.C.-based Murphy, the No. 2 U.S. hog producer. By acquiring Murphy, it would directly own the hogs, thereby increasing its level of domestic vertical integration to about 60 percent, it said. ''While this transaction will temporarily take us above our stated goal of 30 to 40 percent vertical integration, it was too good an opportunity to let pass given the value of the assets and the current political and environmental barriers to further internal expansion,'' said Smithfield Chief Executive Joseph Lutter in a statement. Despite the current weakness in hog prices, the deal should add to Smithfield's bottom line and could be completed by the start of 2000 if the two companies agree on definitive merger terms, Smithfield said. The deal will also need regulatory and shareholder approvals. Smithfield distributes fresh pork and processed meat in the United States and 25 other countries. It sells its products under John Morrell, Lykes and Smithfield brand names. biz.yahoo.com