• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Packer Margins In The Black

Mike

Well-known member
According to HedgersEdge.com, the estimated average packer margin was in the black at $78.25/head. The average packer purchase was placed at $93.79/cwt vs. a breakeven buy at $87.48/cwt.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Smithfield Foods Announces the Sale of 4.95 Percent of Shares to China's Largest National Agricultural Trading and Processing Company COFCO Limited




SMITHFIELD, Va., June 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE: SFD) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with COFCO Limited, China's largest national agricultural trading and processing company, for the sale of 7,000,000 shares, or 4.95 percent of Smithfield's common stock. The purchase price per share will be equal to the closing price of Smithfield's Common Stock on the pricing date for the offering of the company's Convertible Senior Notes, which was announced separately today. The company plans to use the proceeds of the sale to repay indebtedness and for other general corporate purposes.

"I am very pleased that COFCO has agreed to make this equity investment in Smithfield. We have been working closely together and this investment represents a significant step in cementing our relationship for the long term," stated C. Larry Pope, Smithfield's president and chief executive officer.

"COFCO is a widely respected leader in China's food and agriculture industry," Mr. Pope said. "China is experiencing rapid growth in pork consumption and consumes more pork than the rest of the world combined. COFCO has introduced Smithfield to many opportunities in China and we look forward to continue working together."

Mr. Gaoning Ning, the chairman of COFCO, said, "Smithfield is the world's largest producer and processor of pork. We look forward to building on our existing commercial relationship and exploring growth opportunities in China's food industry together." In connection with the sale, Smithfield has agreed to nominate Mr. Ning for election as a director at its 2008 annual shareholders' meeting. COFCO's investment in Smithfield is passive in nature and the purchase agreement contains standstill provisions.

Smithfield expects to close on an initial $63.1 million of the shares promptly following the closing of Smithfield's convertible notes offering. Settlement on the remainder of the shares will be subject to completion of Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust review.

Hogan & Hartson LLP and McGuire Woods LLP are serving as legal advisors to Smithfield Foods.

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated is acting as financial advisor and Davis Polk & Wardwell is serving as legal advisor to COFCO.

The sale was made pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933.

With sales of $11 billion, Smithfield Foods is the leading processor and marketer of fresh pork and packaged meats in the United States, as well as the largest producer of hogs. For more information, visit http://www.smithfieldfoods.com.

COFCO Limited, a company owned by the government of the People's Republic of China, is the largest national agricultural trading and processing company in China. COFCO also has substantial business interests in food and beverage production, commercial and residential real estate, hotel operations, financial services and packaging. Additional information may be found at http://www.cofco.com.

This news release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. The forward-looking statements includes statements concerning the Company's outlook for the future, as well as other statements of beliefs, future plans and strategies or anticipated events, and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. The Company's forward-looking information and statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks and uncertainties include the availability and prices of live hogs and cattle, raw materials, fuel and supplies, food safety, livestock disease, live hog production costs, product pricing, the competitive environment and related market conditions, the timing and extent to which beef export markets are reopened, hedging risk, operating efficiencies, changes in interest rate and foreign currency exchange rates, access to capital, the investment performance of the Company's pension plan assets and the availability of legislative funding relief, the cost of compliance with environmental and health standards, adverse results from on-going litigation, actions of domestic and foreign governments, labor relations issues, credit exposure to large customers, the ability to make effective acquisitions and successfully integrate newly acquired businesses into existing operations and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2008 and in its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because actual results may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. Any forward-looking statement that the Company makes speaks only as of the date of such statement, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Comparisons of results for current and any prior periods are not intended to express any future trends or indications of future performance, unless expressed as such, and should only be viewed as historical data.

SOURCE Smithfield Foods, Inc.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Tyson poised to sell to XL Foods

Written by Editor, on 02-07-2008 09:21

By Sheri Monk
Tyson Foods Inc. plans to sell its Canadian assets to XL Foods Inc., owned by Canada’s Nilsson Bros. Ltd. The $107 million deal, if approved by government, is expected to close by the end of September.
Tyson signed the letter of intent last week which will see XL Foods pick up Tyson’s Lakeside Farm Industries Ltd. and subsidiary Lakeside Packers.
Lakeside Farm Industries includes a fertilizer business and a 75,000-head feedlot located across from the Lakeside packing plant in Brooks, Alberta.
Widely viewed as a bargain basement price, Lakeside wants $57 million up front and the remaining $50 million will be paid over five years.
Speculation has persisted within the industry’s inner circles over the past eight months that Tyson wants out of Canada, and some industry insiders were predicting the massive meat company would simply shut Lakeside’s doors and cease operations.
“Nilsson got it pretty cheap. It’s not the best news, but it’s the best of a bad situation for us,” said Brad Wildeman, president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA). “It will lower our prices–we’ve got two buyers instead of three now. It’s easier to figure out what your competition is doing when your competition is restricted to only one neighbor.”
Nilsson Bros. Group has largely been viewed as a small fish in the beef processing pond, but has been quietly picking up assets in recent years.
While the company owns three packing plants located in Edmonton, Calgary and Moose Jaw, the plants only process between 800 and 1,200 head per day. Lakeside Packers has a daily capacity of 4,700 head and the Lakeside feedlot is the largest feedlot in Canada, capable of finishing nearly a quarter million cattle for slaughter per year.
If the transaction is completed, Nilsson Bros. will be Canada’s largest meatpacker with an estimated daily capacity of nearly 8,000 head. Cargill Canada owns two packing plants–one in High River, Alberta with a capacity of 4,000 head per day and another in Guelph, Ontario with a daily capacity of 2,000 head.
Nilsson Bros. also owns 10 Canadian cattle auction houses and two packing plants in the U.S. under trading name XL Four Star Inc. located in Omaha, Nebraska and Nampa, Idaho.
While discerning the extent of Nilsson Bros. holdings is difficult, the company is known to operate an agricultural insurance company, cow-calf ranches and at least one feedlot.
“It’s very cloudy–I think you’ll have a difficult time to find out (what Nilsson owns),” said Wildeman.
The long-term effect of the ownership shift on live cattle prices is yet unknown, in part because country of origin labeling (COOL) is slated to begin on Sept. 30. COOL is an American initiative which requires the country of origin to be displayed on meat products at the retail level.
The Canadian cattle business is anxiously awaiting COOL’s implementation and many fear the hassle associated with labeling Canadian product may severely strangle the nation’s cattle and beef exports.
If demand from the U.S. weakens as a result of COOL, Canada may experience market turmoil similar to the crisis after BSE was discovered in 2003.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Tyson poised to sell to XL Foods

Written by Editor, on 02-07-2008 09:21

By Sheri Monk
Tyson Foods Inc. plans to sell its Canadian assets to XL Foods Inc., owned by Canada’s Nilsson Bros. Ltd. The $107 million deal, if approved by government, is expected to close by the end of September.
Tyson signed the letter of intent last week which will see XL Foods pick up Tyson’s Lakeside Farm Industries Ltd. and subsidiary Lakeside Packers.
Lakeside Farm Industries includes a fertilizer business and a 75,000-head feedlot located across from the Lakeside packing plant in Brooks, Alberta.
Widely viewed as a bargain basement price, Lakeside wants $57 million up front and the remaining $50 million will be paid over five years.
Speculation has persisted within the industry’s inner circles over the past eight months that Tyson wants out of Canada, and some industry insiders were predicting the massive meat company would simply shut Lakeside’s doors and cease operations.
“Nilsson got it pretty cheap. It’s not the best news, but it’s the best of a bad situation for us,” said Brad Wildeman, president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA). “It will lower our prices–we’ve got two buyers instead of three now. It’s easier to figure out what your competition is doing when your competition is restricted to only one neighbor.”
Nilsson Bros. Group has largely been viewed as a small fish in the beef processing pond, but has been quietly picking up assets in recent years.
While the company owns three packing plants located in Edmonton, Calgary and Moose Jaw, the plants only process between 800 and 1,200 head per day. Lakeside Packers has a daily capacity of 4,700 head and the Lakeside feedlot is the largest feedlot in Canada, capable of finishing nearly a quarter million cattle for slaughter per year.
If the transaction is completed, Nilsson Bros. will be Canada’s largest meatpacker with an estimated daily capacity of nearly 8,000 head. Cargill Canada owns two packing plants–one in High River, Alberta with a capacity of 4,000 head per day and another in Guelph, Ontario with a daily capacity of 2,000 head.
Nilsson Bros. also owns 10 Canadian cattle auction houses and two packing plants in the U.S. under trading name XL Four Star Inc. located in Omaha, Nebraska and Nampa, Idaho.
While discerning the extent of Nilsson Bros. holdings is difficult, the company is known to operate an agricultural insurance company, cow-calf ranches and at least one feedlot.
“It’s very cloudy–I think you’ll have a difficult time to find out (what Nilsson owns),” said Wildeman.
The long-term effect of the ownership shift on live cattle prices is yet unknown, in part because country of origin labeling (COOL) is slated to begin on Sept. 30. COOL is an American initiative which requires the country of origin to be displayed on meat products at the retail level.
The Canadian cattle business is anxiously awaiting COOL’s implementation and many fear the hassle associated with labeling Canadian product may severely strangle the nation’s cattle and beef exports.
If demand from the U.S. weakens as a result of COOL, Canada may experience market turmoil similar to the crisis after BSE was discovered in 2003.
 
Top