Smithfield Foods to launch secondary public offering of stock

Smithfield Foods will launch a secondary public offering of common stock, seven months after its initial public offering (IPO).

The company will offer 16 million shares of common stock to be sold by SFDS UK Holdings Ltd., the principal shareholder of the company. In addition, the selling shareholder intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 2.4 million additional shares of the company’s common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.