Starboard may vote for Smithfield deal, failed to find alternate‑Reuters

(Reuters) – Activist investor Starboard Value LP said in a regulatory filing on Friday that it planned to vote in favor of the $4.7 billion offer for Smithfield Foods Inc by China’s Shuanghui International, saying it has not been able to line up an alternative proposal ahead of a meeting next week.

Starboard, which has a 5.7 percent stake in Smithfield, the world’s largest pork producer, has criticized the deal. The transaction needs the approval of just over 50 percent of Smithfield shareholders at a special meeting next Tuesday. Starboard said unless another proposal emerged, it planned to vote for the Shuanghui deal.