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RICHMOND, Va. — Pork producer Smithfield Foods is selling its stake in the Butterball turkey joint venture, becoming a pure-play pork producer as it continues focusing on its more profitable packaged meat business.
Butterball, a major name in the turkey world, annually sells 1 billion pounds of turkey — 20 percent of all turkeys produced in the U.S.
Smithfield said Friday that its partner, Maxwell Farms, will buy the company’s 49 percent interest for about $175 million and then sell a 50 percent stake in the venture to Seaboard Corp. for $177.5 million in cash, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
