Reuters
China’s Shuanghui International Holdings, which has agreed to buy U.S. pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc. for $4.7 billion, plans to list the combined company in Hong Kong after completing the takeover, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
A Hong Kong IPO, valued at around $4 billion, would allow the merged group to trade in a market that would place a higher valuation on the stock than the U.S. or other exchanges, the sources said.
Hong Kong is a far bigger and more international stock market than Shenzhen, the Chinese exchange where Shuanghui’s main publicly traded subsidiary is listed.
A Hong Kong listing would also offer an ideal exit route for Shuanghui’s private equity investors, which includes Goldman Sachs and New Horizons, when they decide to sell their holdings, according to the people familiar with the matter.