The firm is representing Smithfield Foods, Inc. in its acquisition of Premium Standard Farms, Inc. Smithfield Foods is the leading processor and marketer of fresh pork and processed meats in the United States, as well as the largest producer of hogs. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Premium Standard stockholders will receive 0.678 Smithfield shares plus $1.25 in cash for each share of Premium Standard common stock they hold. The deal has a total transaction value of approximately $810 million, including the assumption of Premium Standard's approximately $117 million of net debt.
The transaction was announced on September 18 and is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2007.
The Simpson Thacher team includes Rob Spatt, Maripat Alpuche, Andrew Smith, Elizabeth Cooper, Kristina Groennings (M&A); Kevin Arquit, Aimee Goldstein, Jennifer Rie, Ethan Litwin and Olivier Antoine (Antitrust); Gary Mandel and Sean Austin (Tax); Alvin Brown and Carl Berry (Benefits); Mike Isby (Environmental); Lori Lesser (IP); Krista McManus and Wendy Yu (Real Estate).