REUTERS — Smithfield Foods’ Chinese owner, WH Group, is working with banks to take the U.S.-based pork producer public again in the United States, according to media reports.
Smithfield could list its shares as early as next year, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding that the deliberations are ongoing and the timing could change.
“The company regularly evaluates relisting Smithfield’s stock in the U.S., but there is no timetable for it,” WH Group said in an emailed statement.
WH Group acquired Smithfield in 2013 in a $4.7 billion deal aimed at tapping the massive supplies of U.S. meat for export to China.
