Smithfield Foods’ IPO: 34.8 Million Shares at $23-27 Per Share
Smithfield Foods yesterday (Jan. 21) announced the price range and size of its long-rumored initial public offering of stock, but a date for the offering has not been announced.
The initial public offering price is expected to be $23-27 per share, with Smithfield offering 17,400,000 shares of common stock and its Chinese parent, WH Group, offering another 17,400,000 shares. The underwriters of the offering will be granted a 30-day option to purchase from the selling shareholder up to 5,220,000 additional shares.
If all the shares are sold at the top of the price range, the IPO could net the company about $1 billion. Reuters and Seeking Alpha said the IPO values the company at $10.7 billion.
The Company has applied to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol SFD.
Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs & Co., Barclays, Citigroup, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Rabo Securities and BTIG are all listed as managers for the proposed offering.
WH Group acquired the then-publicly held pork company in 2013. for The first mention of a possible spinoff was in July of last year, and Smithfield made its first official filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission this Jan. 6.