Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
(AP) - SHAREHOLDER SURPRISE: Smithfield Foods Inc.'s largest shareholder, Starboard Value LP, said Friday that it will vote in favor of a proposed takeover by a Chinese meat producer after failing to find an alternative bidder.
WHY NOW: Starboard said earlier this month that that it would vote against Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.'s $34 per share offer, because it wanted more time to seek alternatives that would provide better shareholder value. But it could not secure an offer under existing time and financial constraints.
THE VOTE: Unless another proposal emerges, Starboard plans on voting in favor of Shuanghui's $4.7 billion offer. The vote is scheduled for Tuesday. Starboard owns about 5.7 percent of Smithfield's common stock.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)