By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

On Tuesday, September 24, 2013, the shareholders of the U.S. pork giant Smithfield Foods voted by a margin of 96% to 4% to approve the acquisition of the company by Shuanghui International, a Chinese meat processing conglomerate.  The $7.1 billion deal, which includes $4.5 in cash and an assumption of $2.6 of Smithfield debt, represents the largest acquisition of a U.S. company by a Chinese company in history.