WH Group

WH Group is a Hong Kong-based multinational food company focused primarily on pork production and meat processing. Its businesses extend across hog raising, slaughtering, fresh and packaged meat, consumer meat products, flavoring ingredients, logistics, and related food operations. The group is best known for controlling Shuanghui in China and Smithfield Foods in the United States, giving it a production and distribution footprint spanning China, North America and parts of Europe. The company traces its origins to a meat-processing plant established by the Luohe municipal government in 1958. Wan Long joined the plant in 1968 and later became its general manager. Under his leadership, the operation expanded from a financially troubled local processor into a large branded-meat enterprise. The company introduced its first branded meat product in February 1992, and sausage sales helped finance further expansion. In the same year, Shuanghui formed a joint venture with institutional investors from six countries; this structure was consolidated as Shuanghui Group in 1994. Shuanghui’s development centered on industrial-scale processing and branded consumer products. Its activities include hog procurement and farming, slaughtering, processing, cold-chain logistics and sales. The group has historically bought most of the pigs it processes from suppliers rather than raising all of them itself. Reference material describes a network of 13 production facilities capable of producing more than 2.7 million tonnes of meat annually, with annual slaughter exceeding 15 million pigs. It has also developed a broad portfolio of approximately 1,000 products and more than 500 patents, although these operating figures are tied to the cited reference period rather than necessarily representing current totals. The corporate structure changed significantly in the 2000s. In 2006, the Luohe government sold its interest in Shuanghui to a joint venture involving Goldman Sachs and CDH Investments. Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Company was established and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1998. Wan Long became chairman in October 2007. The group also established a sales operation in Japan in 2011, reflecting an effort to broaden its commercial reach beyond mainland China. The defining strategic event was the acquisition of Smithfield Foods. In May 2013, Shuanghui announced an offer of US$34 per Smithfield share, representing an equity value of approximately US$4.72 billion and an enterprise value of about US$7.1 billion including assumed debt. The transaction was approved by Smithfield shareholders in September 2013 and required review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. It became the largest takeover of a United States company by a Chinese company at the time. Smithfield became privately held, while its management and workforce were broadly retained. The transaction gave Shuanghui access to Smithfield’s American pork production, brands and export capabilities, while creating a route to serve Chinese demand for imported and internationally sourced food products. In January 2014, Shanghui International adopted the name WH Group. The new name was associated with “Wanzhou Holdings,” conveying an ambition to operate across regions and continents. Smithfield subsequently reshaped parts of its portfolio. In 2015, it sold its 37 percent interest in Spanish processor Campofrío Food Group to Alfa Group for US$354 million, citing balance-sheet improvement and financial flexibility for strategic acquisitions. In 2016, Smithfield acquired Clougherty Packing from Hormel Foods for US$145 million, adding brands including Farmer John and Saag’s Specialty Meats and expanding its western United States operations. In 2017, Smithfield acquired the remaining 66.5 percent of Pini Polonia, making the Polish business wholly owned and adding related operations in Poland, Italy and Hungary. WH Group operates as an integrated global pork…

WH Group originated in a meat-processing plant established by the Luohe municipal government in 1958. Wan Long joined the plant in 1968 and became its general manager in 1984. His tenure began a period of operational recovery and expansion. The previously struggling business returned to profitability, and branded sausage products became an important engine of growth. The company introduced its first branded meat product in February 1992. Later that year, it created a joint venture with institutional investors from six countries. This structure was consolidated as Shuanghui Group in 1994. Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Company was established and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1998, creating a public-market vehicle for part of the group’s operations. In 2000, Shuanghui established a post-secondary educational and work-research division, reflecting its efforts to develop technical and managerial capabilities. By 2006, Shuanghui was described as China’s largest food processor by corporate valuation and held a leading position in the country’s high-temperature processed-meat market. That year, the Luohe government sold its interest to a joint venture involving Goldman Sachs and CDH Investments. Wan Long became chairman on 16 October 2007. The company expanded its international commercial activities, including establishing a sales operation in Japan in 2011. Shuanghui’s major international transformation began with its proposed acquisition of Smithfield Foods in May 2013. The offer valued Smithfield at approximately US$4.72 billion in equity terms and about US$7.1 billion including assumed debt. The transaction was subject to shareholder approval and review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Smithfield shareholders approved it on 24 September 2013, and the transaction was completed shortly afterward. Smithfield ceased to be publicly traded. Its management structure and workforce were broadly preserved, while the acquisition provided access to American pork production, brands and export infrastructure. A proposed plan to list Smithfield on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was announced in 2013 but was abandoned in 2014. In January 2014, Shanghui International changed its name to WH Group. The new name was linked to “Wanzhou Holdings,” expressing the company’s international ambitions. The Shuanghui operating brand remained in use through Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development. Following the acquisition, Smithfield adjusted its portfolio and geographic structure. In June 2015, it sold its 37 percent stake in Spanish processor Campofrío Food Group to Alfa Group for US$354 million. In 2016, Smithfield acquired California-based Clougherty Packing from Hormel Foods for US$145 million, adding Farmer John and Saag’s Specialty Meats as well as related facilities and hog farms. In 2017, Smithfield acquired the remaining 66.5 percent of Pini Polonia, making that business wholly owned and reinforcing the group’s European operations in Poland, Italy and Hungary. WH Group’s operating model combines hog production and procurement, slaughtering, meat processing, consumer brands, logistics and international sales. Reference material describes 13 facilities producing more than 2.7 million tonnes of meat per year, annual slaughter above 15 million pigs, approximately 1,000 products and more than 500 patents. It also indicates that the group raises only a portion of the pigs it processes, purchasing the remainder from external suppliers. The cited material reported approximately 101,000 employees in 2019 and stated that employees held about 30 percent of the company. The group’s current identity is therefore the result of the internationalization of Shuanghui and the integration of Smithfield rather than the creation of a wholly new food category. WH Group remains exposed to livestock prices, animal disease, feed costs, food-safety regulation, trade conditions and consumer demand, while its scale and portfolio of branded meat products provide diversification across markets.

1. 2017Pini Polonia becomes wholly owned

   Smithfield acquired the remaining 66.5 percent of Pini Polonia.

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2. 2016Clougherty Packing acquired

   Smithfield acquired Clougherty Packing from Hormel Foods for US$145 million.

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3. 2015Campofrío stake sold

   Smithfield sold its 37 percent interest in Campofrío Food Group to Alfa Group for US$354 million.

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4. 2014Company renamed WH Group

   Shanghui International changed its name to WH Group after the Smithfield transaction.

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5. 2013Smithfield Foods acquisition announced

   Shuanghui announced its proposed acquisition of Smithfield Foods in a transaction valued at approximately US$7.1 billion including assumed debt.

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6. 2007Wan Long appointed chairman

   Wan Long became chairman of the company on 16 October.

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7. 1998Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development lists in Shenzhen

   The group’s Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development subsidiary was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

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8. 1994Shuanghui Group consolidated

   The international-investor venture was consolidated as Shuanghui Group.

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9. 1992First branded meat product and international-investor joint venture

   The company launched its first branded meat product and formed a joint venture with institutional investors from six countries.

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10. 1984Wan Long becomes general manager

    Wan Long became general manager and began the turnaround and expansion that transformed the local processor.

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11. 1968Wan Long joins the plant

    Wan Long joined the original Luohe processing business, beginning his long association with the company.

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12. 1958Luohe meat-processing plant established

    The Luohe municipal government established the meat-processing operation that later developed into Shuanghui and ultimately WH Group.

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A vertically integrated, mass-market and branded food platform combining large-scale pork production with packaged-meat manufacturing and international distribution.

• Shuanghui branded processed meatsProcessed meat1992

  Shuanghui is the group’s principal Chinese consumer-meat identity. Its portfolio includes sausages, ham, luncheon meat and other packaged pork products. The brand’s development dates to the early 1990s, when the company introduced its first branded meat product and used sausage sales to support wider industrial expansion. Shuanghui products are associated with high-volume manufacturing and distribution in China.

• Smithfield packaged porkFresh and processed meat

  Smithfield supplies fresh pork and a broad range of packaged meat products through its United States and international operations. Its portfolio includes bacon, ham, sausages and other pork products sold through retail, foodservice and export channels. Within WH Group, Smithfield provides a major production platform and international brand presence.

• Farmer JohnProcessed meat

  Farmer John became part of Smithfield through the 2016 acquisition of Clougherty Packing from Hormel Foods. The brand expanded WH Group’s presence in the western United States and added established packaged pork offerings to Smithfield’s regional portfolio.

• Saag’s Specialty MeatsSpecialty processed meat

  Saag’s Specialty Meats was included in Smithfield’s acquisition of Clougherty Packing. It represents a specialty-meat component of the group’s United States portfolio, complementing Smithfield’s larger-scale bacon, ham, sausage and fresh-pork businesses.

• 2014Rebrand Shanghui International as WH GroupStrategy

  After the Smithfield acquisition, the company adopted a name intended to express a broader international identity.

  What changed. Shanghui International changed its name to WH Group, while Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development retained the Shuanghui operating identity.

  Aftermath. The group continued operating through a portfolio of Chinese, American and European businesses under a unified corporate identity.

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• 2013Acquire Smithfield FoodsM&A

  Shuanghui sought to build an international pork platform and gain access to Smithfield’s production assets, brands and export capabilities.

  What changed. The company agreed to pay US$34 per Smithfield share, with an equity value of approximately US$4.72 billion and an estimated total transaction value of about US$7.1 billion including assumed debt.

  Aftermath. The transaction received Smithfield shareholder approval and required United States national-security review. Smithfield became privately held and remained operationally integrated within the enlarged WH Group.

  Transaction value. Approximately US$4.72 billion equity value; approximately US$7.1 billion including assumed debt (Announced May 2013)

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• 2020WH Group reports limited operating impact from COVID-19

  In late March, the group said the pandemic had had a limited effect on its United States and China operations and that approximately 95 percent of operations had returned to normal.

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• 2017Smithfield takes full ownership of Pini Polonia

  Smithfield acquired the remaining 66.5 percent of Pini Polonia, making the Polish processor wholly owned and adding associated operations in Poland, Italy and Hungary.

  M&A
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• 2016Smithfield acquires Clougherty Packing from Hormel Foods

  The acquisition added Farmer John, Saag’s Specialty Meats and related production and farming assets, strengthening Smithfield’s presence in the western United States.

  M&A
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• 2015Smithfield sells its stake in Campofrío Food Group

  Smithfield sold its 37 percent interest in Spanish processor Campofrío Food Group to Alfa Group for US$354 million. The stated rationale was to strengthen the balance sheet and preserve cash for strategic acquisitions.

  M&A
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• 2014Shanghui International adopts the WH Group name

  The company changed its corporate name from Shanghui International to WH Group after completing the Smithfield transaction, while the Henan Shuanghui operating subsidiary retained the Shuanghui identity.

  Other
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• 2013Shuanghui announces proposed acquisition of Smithfield Foods

  Shuanghui announced an agreement to acquire Smithfield Foods for approximately US$4.72 billion in equity value, or about US$7.1 billion including assumed debt. The transaction required shareholder approval and review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

  M&A
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• 2013Smithfield acquisition receives shareholder approval

  Smithfield shareholders approved the proposed acquisition in September 2013, clearing a major transaction condition before completion.

  M&A
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1. WH Group