S&P keeps Smithfield on watch

Standard & Poor's said its ratings on Smithfield Foods Inc., including the BB+ corporate credit rating, remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were originally placed Aug. 10.

The agency said that this CreditWatch update follows Smithfield's announcement that it has approved a definitive merger agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of Premium Standard Foods.

The total transaction value will be $810 million and will include the conversion of Premium's shares of stock into Smithfield's and a $1.25 per share cash component, S&P noted, adding that the ratings were initially placed on CreditWatch following the announcement that Groupe Smithfield SL, the company's 50/50 joint venture with Oaktree Capital Management LLC, was temporarily operating under a 90-day €328,977,325 unsecured credit facility.

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