000150 Smithfield Completes Acquisition of Murphy Family FarmsJanuary 30, 2000Smithfield, VA - Smithfield Foods, Inc. announced that it has completed the acquisition of Murphy Farms, Inc. and its affiliated companies (collectively “Murphy Family Farms”) for 11.1 million shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc common stock and the assumption of approximately $203 million in debt, plus other liabilities. As previously announced, Murphy Family Farms will join the Company's other domestic hog production subsidiaries, Brown's of Carolina, Inc. and Carroll's Foods, Inc., together the three operations will produce approximately 12 million high quality market hogs per year. Going forward, Murphy Family Farms will be conducted as a separate operating unit of Smithfield Foods that will be managed by its present management team, which remains substantially intact. “We have worked very closely with Murphy's for many years and are very comfortable with their management team”, Joseph W. Luter, III, Chairman and CEO of Smithfield Foods, said. He also noted that “Given the current outlook for hog prices over the next 12 months and our anticipated raising costs, we expect this acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings.” He further stated that this “substantially completes our long-term goal of vertical integration and allows us to continue producing the most consistent and leanest pork on the market today.” DESCRIPTION OF COMPANY Smithfield Foods is the largest vertically integrated producer and marketer of fresh pork and processed meats in the United States. The Company's brands include Smithfield Lean Generation, Smithfield Premium, Gwaltney, John Morrell, Patrick Cudahy, Schneiders, Krakus, Lykes, Esskay, Kretschmar, Valleydale, Jamestown, Dinner Bell, Sunnyland, ReaLean, Patrick's Pride, Great, Tobin's First Prize, Peyton's, Rodeo, IQM, Curly's, Ember Farms and others. In addition, the Company has operating subsidiaries in Canada, France and Poland and participates in joint ventures in both Brazil and Mexico. The French subsidiaries produce and sell processed meats while the Canadian and Polish subsidiaries have slaughter operations and sell fresh pork, processed meat and other related food products. The joint ventures are involved in all aspects of the pork business including hog production and slaughter as well as the sale of fresh and processed meats.
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com |
