011030 Smithfield Sees Two More Likely DealsOctober 20, 2001Chicago - Smithfield Foods Inc., which has been buying smaller meat packers to expand beyond pork into beef, will likely announce at least two more deals by mid-November, its chairman and chief executive said. “I don't know for sure, but we will probably announce a couple of acquisitions in the next two to three weeks,” said the CEO, Joe Luter, following a meat industry conference in Chicago. Luter noted that Smithfield, based in Smithfield, Virginia, issued $300 million in senior debt on Thursday, a move he said would “give us the wherewithal to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.” Luter declined to specify whether the acquisitions would be of pork or beef companies. After losing a bid to buy No. 1 U.S. beef packer IBP Inc. late last year to chicken producer Tyson Foods Inc.,Smithfield early last month announced plans to buy No. 5 U.S. beef packer Packerland Holdings Inc.
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