January 24, 2025

Smithfield reveals terms for upcoming IPO

Smithfield Foods on January 21 unveiled terms for its planned initial public offering (IPO), with the largest US pork producer and Hong Kong-listed parent company WH Group both planning to offer 17.4 million shares at a price between US$23 and US$27 each.

The largest US pork producer estimates the move will generate US$400.4 million in proceeds and said it would have almost 397.5 million shares outstanding after the IPO, resulting in a market capitalisation of nearly US$10 billion at the midpoint of the offering range. The high end of the range would give it a market cap of more than US$10.7 billion.

The company estimated that it generated a gross profit of US$515 million to US$543 million on sales between US$3.87 billion and US$3.95 billion for the three months ended December 29.

After the IPO, WH Group still would own about 90% of Smithfield, which has applied to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker "SFD".

The planned IPO comes after companies going public raised US$39.32 billion in the United States in 2024, more than in the previous two years, per Dealogic data.

Market participants widely expect 2025 to be a better year for IPOs, with US President Donald Trump seen easing regulations and the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates.

- Investopedia.com