The Shuanghui Group of China has agreed to buy the American meat processor Smithfield Foods for about $4.7 billion, the two companies announced on Wednesday.
Under the terms of the deal, Shuanghui, which is the largest pork processor in China, will pay $34 a share for Smithfield, 31 percent above the company’s closing share price on Tuesday.
The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, is expected to close in the second half of the year.
Barclays and the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is advising Smithfield Foods, while Morgan Stanley and the law firm Troutman Sanders is advising the Shuanghui Group.
