US town ponders China taking home the bacon
Smithfield residents stunned by offer to buy pork producer and hope they will still be riding high on the hog even if an outsider is in charge
You can't go far in the historic southeastern Virginia town of Smithfield without seeing a pig.
The home of the world's largest pork producer and maker of famous Smithfield hams is divided in its reaction to news that the company has agreed to be bought by a Chinese company.
Smithfield Foods agreed to a US$4.72 billion offer from Shuanghui International Holdings, the majority shareholder in China's largest meat processor. The deal, which would be the largest takeover of a US company by a Chinese firm, still faces a federal regulatory review and Smithfield shareholder approval.
Steps from the site where the company was founded in 1936, residents in the "Ham Capital of the World" greet each other on a main street lined with white picket fences and Victorian-style homes, and welcome a neighbour back from a recent trip out of town. Just down the road, workers shuffle into the company's packing plants for their shifts.
Looking out on the street that's lined with antique cars every weekend, locals frequent Smithfield Gourmet Bakery and Beanery, grabbing their morning coffee and pastry. Some are shocked that "China would own our Smithfield", said Carolyn Burke, a longtime resident who owns the eatery.