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Tag: Smithfield Foods

  • Smithfield Foods to buy LI-based Nathan’s Famous for $450M | Long Island Business News

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    Frankie, the mascot for Nathan’s Famous hot dogs, excites the audience at the official weigh-in ceremony, ahead of the Coney Island’s 2025 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York City on July 3, 2025. / REUTERS file photo by Angelina Katsanis

    U.S. will buy century-old in a $450 million deal that adds the most iconic U.S. hot dog name to its portfolio of brands, the company said Wednesday. 

    Smithfield Foods is the licensee of Nathan’s Famous pre-packaged , selling a wide variety of these beef franks at more than 20,000 supermarkets and wholesale club stores nationwide. 

    Smithfield will pay $102 per share, a nearly 10% premium to Nathan’s close on Tuesday.  Nathan’s shares were up about 9% at $100.94 in premarket trading. 

    Smithfield already holds an exclusive license to manufacture and sell Nathan’s Famous products in the United States and Canada and at Sam’s Club stores in Mexico. 

    Shares of Smithfield, a majority-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed rose about 2%. The stock gained roughly 6% in 2025 after its market debut. 

    Nathan’s Famous, which has its headquarters at One Jericho Plaza in Jericho, began as a hot dog stand in 1916, founded by immigrant Nathan Handwerker with $300 borrowed from entertainers Jimmy Durante and Eddie Cantor, and initially sold hot dogs for 5 cents. The brand later expanded nationwide under the leadership of Handwerker’s son, Murray. 

    The brand is known for its annual hot dog-eating competition held at Nathan’s Coney Island on July 4 every year, where winners are awarded a “mustard belt” for eating the most hot dogs. Last year, Joey Chestnut was declared the men’s champion after he devoured 70.5 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, according to the company’s website.  

     “The Nathan’s Famous acquisition is a meaningful step in the progression of Smithfield Foods, allowing us to own all of the top brands in our portfolio,” Smithfield CEO Shane Smith said.  

    The deal is expected to close in the first half of this year, Smithfield said. 


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    Reuters

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  • Smithfield Foods employee found dead

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    An employee at Smithfield Foods was found dead at the company’s facility in Tar Heel on Saturday.

    The company released a statement on the death.

    We were saddened to learn
    that an employee was found unresponsive at our Tar Heel, North Carolina,
    facility on Saturday and was pronounced deceased. Our thoughts and prayers are
    with our co-worker’s family. We have notified OSHA and are fully cooperating
    with an investigation.

    The person’s name was not released. There is no information on what caused the death.

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  • Smithfield Foods ends contracts with 26 US pig farms, citing oversupply

    Smithfield Foods ends contracts with 26 US pig farms, citing oversupply

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    By Tom Polansek and Pushparaj 1

    CHICAGO (Reuters) – Smithfield Foods said on Tuesday it will end contracts with 26 hog farms in the U.S. state of Utah, in the latest contraction by the world’s largest pork processor in the face of an industry oversupply.

    Pork producers have been losing money as pig prices and consumer demand for pork have struggled at a time of high costs for labor and other expenses.

    Smithfield, owned by Hong Kong’s WH Group, said it will terminate employees who support its dealings with farms that raise hogs under production contracts. Layoffs may total about 70 employees, or up to one third of the 210 workers in Smithfield’s Utah hog production operations.

    “Our industry and company are experiencing historically challenging hog production market conditions,” CEO Shane Smith said.

    Smithfield in October said it would close a pork processing plant in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company previously said it was permanently closing 35 hog farm sites in Missouri and laying off employees.

    Smithfield needs such cutbacks to remain competitive, Smith said. A company statement cited an “industry oversupply of pork, weaker consumer demand and high feed prices” as challenges, though futures prices for corn used for livestock feed last month fell to their lowest level in nearly three years.

    U.S. meat companies also grappled with an excess of chicken this year and tightening supplies of cattle due to drought.

    Tyson Foods, the biggest U.S. meat company by sales, shut U.S. chicken plants that employed thousands of workers. Last month, Tyson said it would also close two plants where hundreds of workers cut and package meat.

    (Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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