The US meat packer Smithfield Foods last week announced that it is to acquire the beef specialist Moyer Packing Company of Souderton Pennsylvania.

With annual sales of around $600 million, Moyer is the largest packer in the eastern United States and the US’s ninth largest packer. The 120 year-old company’s operations include beef processing, fabricating and further processing, as well as hide processing and rendering – activities that will complement Smithfield's own background in pig processing.

News of the acquisition co-incided with Smithfield’s announcement that it is expecting ‘unusual gains’ in fourth quarter earnings of around $.85 per share. The company said the increase was mainly due to its sale of a processing plant in Canada and the disposal of IBP stock. Terms of the Moyer transaction were not disclosed.