010116 Smithfield Cuts IBP Stake to Less Than 5%January 7, 2001Washington - One day after failing in its bid for IBP Inc., Smithfield Foods Inc. moved to reduce its stake in the beef processing giant to less than 5%, a U.S. regulatory filing showed. Smithfield, a Virginia-based pork processor that recently lost a bidding war with leading U.S. poultry producer Tyson Foods Inc., sold 2.555 million shares on January 2-3, according to a filing made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That left Smithfield's stake in IBP at 4.2% with 4,409,341 shares, from 6.6% with 6,964,341 shares, the SEC filing showed. Shares of Smithfield slipped $1.50 to $30.69 on the New York Stock Exchange in mid-day trading. They have a 52-week high of $33.30 and a low of $14.875. Under the January 1 deal, Tyson agreed to pay $3.2 billion, or $30 per share in cash and stock. Smithfield, the world's largest hog and fresh pork producer, had offered $32 a share.
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com |
