NEW YORK, May 29, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The fairness of the proposed acquisition of Smithfield Foods, Inc. ("SFD" or the "Company") by Shuanghui International Holdings Limited ("Shuanghui") is the subject of an examination by WeissLaw LLP, a national class action, shareholder rights law firm. The examination is focusing on possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the Board of Directors of SFD for agreeing to sell Smithfield to Shuanghui. On May 29, 2013, the companies jointly announced they had reached a definitive agreement for Shuanghui to acquire all outstanding shares of SFD for $34.00 per common share, for a total value of approximately $7.1 billion, including the assumption of SFD's net debt.
WeissLaw LLP is investigating whether SFD's Board acted to maximize shareholder value prior to entering into the agreement with Shuanghui. Notably, prior to the announcement of the deal, multiple analysts set price targets for SFD stock significantly above the price offered by Shuanghui under the merger agreement, with a high price target of $48.00 – or $14.00 above the price offered by Shuanghui.
Given these facts, WeissLaw is investigating the Board of Directors' decision to sell SFD and whether SFD shareholders will obtain their fair proportionate share of the Company's continued success and future growth prospects. If you own SFD shares and would like more information about your rights or our investigation, please contact Joshua Rubin or Kelly Keenan either by telephone at (888) 593-4771 or by email at stockinfo@weisslawllp.com.
The firm is also in the process of investigations on behalf of shareholders of CapLease Inc., Lender Processing Services, Inc., Stewart Enterprises Inc. and rue21, Inc.
WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at stockinfo@weisslawllp.com or fill out the form on our website, http://www.weisslawllp.com/contact/report_fraud/.
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