Originally from: Burkie
                        
Just announced yesterday is the following news:

Richmond, Va (AP) – Pork processing giant Smithfield Foods Inc. said Monday it won the bidding in an auction for bankrupt Farmland Industries Inc.'s pork businsess.

As part of the agreement Smithfield will pay $367.4 million in cash for almost all the assets for the Kansas City, Mo. company's pork division, Farmland Foods. It will also assume $90 million in pension obligations, boosting the combined value to $457.4 million.

Smithfielf rival Cargill Inc. of Minnetonka, Minn., earlier said it would pay $385 million for Farmland Foods, beating Smithfield's initial offer of $363.5 million. During Sunday's auction, it essentially matched but would not top Smithfield's final bid, said Mark Klein, a Cargill spokesman said. "We had to set out limits," he said.

"Obviously, we are disappointed that we did not prevail in the auction," said Bull Buckner, president of Excel Corp., Cargill's meat processing industry.