Smithfield Bosses to Get $85.4 Million From Chinese Deal
Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD) executives, who run one of the worst-performing large U.S. food makers over the past five years, are set to reap at least $85.4 million from its sale to China’s Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.
The company has been under pressure from its biggest shareholder for lagging behind competitors Hormel Foods Corp. and Tyson Foods Inc. Continental Grain Co., which has a 6.8 percent stake, said in March that Smithfield should appoint new managers and break itself into three businesses as rising animal-feed costs made its hog-production unit unprofitable.
The total payout is based on the stock and share options held by Smithfield’s five top executives, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Among the managers, Chief Executive Officer C. Larry Pope owns stock valued at $25.4 million based on the $34-per-share offer price, according a May 17 filing.
Pope would also get $11 million for his share options, according to Smithfield’s most recent proxy filing in August, which based its calculation on control of the company changing on April 29, 2012. The stock on that date was 38 percent less than the price that China’s biggest pork producer agreed to pay this week. The other four executives also stand to get paid out on their options.
More at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-31/smithfield-bosses-to-get-85-4-million-from-chinese-deal.html .
