The world’s largest pork supplier WH Group Ltd said on Tuesday its Smithfield Foods Inc unit would buy two packaged meats manufacturers in Romania, further expanding the Chinese group’s operations in Europe.
US-based Smithfield has agreed to buy a 100% stake in Elit SRL and Vericom SRL for an undisclosed sum, the Chinese pork producer said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse.
The deals are conditional on obtaining anti-monopoly approval from the relevant regulatory authorities, it added.
Elit and Vericom operate three packaged meats manufacturing facilities and five distribution centres in Romania. They sell about 25,000 metric tons of packaged meats each year to 12,000 customers through a nationwide distribution network.
In August, WH Group through Smithfield acquired Pini Polska, Hamburger Pini and Royal Chicken in Poland, as part of its efforts to expand in Europe.
It makes more sense to me for any Chinese company to develop his farms and factories in a poorer and relatively under developed West like Romania than trying to buy up the farms in the Rich West.