Smithfield’s Hunger for Bacon Makes Sara Lee a Target: Real M&A

Smithfield Foods Inc., owner of the world’s biggest hog slaughterhouse, is looking for deals in smoked ham, bacon and frozen meatballs. That may put Sara Lee Corp. and People’s Food Holdings Ltd. on its shopping list.

The Smithfield, Virginia-based company may seek purchases in the packaged-meats industry after canceling a plan this month to buy Spain’s Campofrio Food Group SA, Chief Executive Officer C. Larry Pope said June 16. Sara Lee, which is spinning off its beverage business to focus on meat, may be a target, said Fifth Third Asset Management. Smithfield could also profit from an acquisition in emerging markets such as China, where pork prices reached a three-year high as shortages of the nation’s most consumed meat persist, according to AgStar Financial Services.