China’s biggest pork producer Shuanghui is planning a US$5 billion IPO in Hong Kong in the second quarter of 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. Shuanghui recently bought Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest hog farmer and pork processor, in a US$4.7 billion deal that marked the largest Chinese takeover of a US company. The listing would give Shuanghui’s private-equity owners an opportunity to exit, but whether they would do so is unclear. Shuanghui could also use the IPO proceeds to pay down debt used to acquire Smithfield, the people familiar with the deal said.
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