Starboard Drops Opposition To Smithfield-Shuanghui Deal

Activist hedge fund Starboard Value has dropped its opposition to the $4.7 billion sale of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD) to Chinese meat processing company Shuanghui International, clearing the way for the merger, reports Michael J. De La Merced for The New York Times. After failing to find an alternative, Starboard plans to vote for the merger With just a 1.3 percent stake in the company, Starboard didn’t have enough control to block the deal on its own, and there hasn’t been opposition from other institutional investors, forcing Starboard to look for rival food companies to take part in an attempted…