Government Okays Sale AOf Smithfield Foods To China

The U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will allow the sale of Smithfield Foods to a Chinese company, Shuanghui International.

Smithfield is already the world's largest pork producer and processor, with facilities in 26 U.S. states, including the largest slaughterhouse and meat-processing plant in the world in Tar Heel, N.C.

Smithfield also operates in Mexico and 10 European countries, with a global total of more than 46,000 employees, the company says.

The sale to the Chinese company is still subject to approval from Smithfield shareholders, who are scheduled to vote on it Sept. 24, according to a Cable News Network (CNN) report. If approved, it would be the largest acquisition of a U.S. company by a Chinese buyer.

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