ROMANIA: Smithfield acquires Elit and Vericom | Progresiv

Smithfield Food, a company owned by the Chinese giant WH Group, announced that it will acquire Elit and Vericom, two businesses active on the local meat processing industry, owned by entrepreneur Dorin Mateiu.

Smithfield bought the two companies in full, according to an announcement published on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and related by the New York Times. The amount of the transaction was not specified. The transaction is pending for approval from the Competition Council.

Elit and Vericom own together three production units and five distribution centers in Romania, with sales of around 25,000 tons of packed meat for 12,000 customers nationwide.

Elit, one of the most important meat processors in Romania, went out of insolvency this year. In 2016, the company ended with a turnover of 75 million euros and a profit of about 8 million euros. On the other hand, the Vericom cold cuts factory reported last year a turnover of over 21 million euros and a net profit of 1.6 million euros.

In August, the Chinese from the WH Group acquired Pini Polska, Hamburger Pini and Royal Chicken in Poland as part of the expansion strategy in Europe.

Smithfield Ferme operates 46 farms in Timis and Arad counties, along with four swine breeding units and two combined feed factories.