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Smithfield Foods' Parent Company Pulls IPO.

WH Group is the Chinese company that acquired Smithfield Foods.

The WH Group is pulling its initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and delaying pricing due to lack of demand, according to Reuters.

Reuters, citing anonymous sources, said the IPO, initially thought to be worth $5.3 billion, would instead be less than $2 billion.

The IPO share pricing had been slated for Tuesday, and the company had been due to debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on April 30.

It is said that the WH Group plans to use much of the money raised through its IPO to pay back debt it incurred last year with its $4.9 billion purchase of Smithfield.

Smithfield Foods is a leading pork producer and processing company.  The company owns Farmland Foods, which has a pork plant in Crete, Cook's Hams, which operates in Lincoln, and a Margherita sausage plant in Omaha.


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Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim

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In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.