Private-equity backed Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.’s planned $4.7 billion acquisition of U.S. pork giant Smithfield Foods Inc. SFD +0.12% could finally give the Chinese pork-processor’s investors an opportunity to exit en masse.

有私募股权投资支持的双汇国际控股有限公司(Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.)计划以47亿美元收购美国猪肉生产巨头Smithfield Foods Inc.，该交易可能会让这家中国肉类加工企业的投资者终于有了一个集体撤出投资的机会。

If successful, the acquisition of the world’s largest pork producer and processor would boost Shuanghui’s assets to $11 billion, according to MoneyBeat calculations. It would also pave the way for Shuanghui’s investors to exit via a global listing, after a plan to tap China’s capital markets fell through three years ago.

根据MoneyBeat的计算，如果这家世界上最大的肉类生产和加工企业的这笔收购交易能够成功，将使双汇国际的资产增加到110亿美元。这也将为双汇国际的投资者通过海外上市撤出投资铺平道路。双汇国际三年前曾经试图利用中国的资本市场融资，但未能成功。

Shanghai-based CDH Investments first invested in the Chinese company seven years ago and remains its biggest shareholder─a rarity considering Chinese private-equity firms sometimes exit their investments in as little as two years. Other shareholders in the pork producer include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS +0.91%’s private-equity arm, which first invested in 2006, and Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., which invested around 2009.

总部位于上海的鼎辉投资(CDH Investments)七年前率先投资这家中国公司，目前仍是最大的股东，这种情况十分罕见，因为中国私募股权公司的投资期通常较短，有时仅两年就会撤出投资。这家肉类生产商的股东还包括2006年开始投资的高盛集团(Goldman Sachs Group Inc.)的私募股权投资子公司，以及2009年左右开始投资的新加坡国有投资公司淡马锡控股(Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd.)。

To be sure, CDH Investments, the biggest shareholder in Shuanghui, is unlikely to exit now, because it’s backing the takeover of Smithfield, according to a person familiar with the matter. It did, however, look into exiting in 2010 along with the other investors.

据一名知情人士说，毫无疑问，双汇国际的最大股东鼎晖投资现在不太可能撤出投资，因为它正在支持对Smithfield的收购交易。不过，这家公司的确曾经在2010年考虑过与其他投资者一同撤出投资。

A CDH spokesperson declined to comment.

鼎晖投资的一名发言人拒绝置评。

Shuanghui International, which started as a state-owned company with one meat processing plant in Henan province in 1969, welcomed private investors in 2006.

双汇国际1969年创办时是一家国有公司，在河南省拥有一家肉制品加工厂，2006年开始接纳民营投资者。

CDH has a 33.7% stake in the company, while New Horizon Capital, a China-focused private-equity firm co-founded by the son of former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, owns a 4.2% stake, according to unit Henan Shuanghui’s 2012 annual report issued in May.

根据子公司河南双汇投资发展股份有限公司(Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Co.)5月份发布的2012年年度财报，鼎晖投资在双汇国际拥有33.7%的权益，新天域资本(New Horizon Capital)拥有4.2%的权益。新天域资本是一家专注于中国的私募股权公司，中国前总理温家宝的儿子是新天域资本的创始人之一。

Goldman Sachs, which had a 51% stake in Shuanghui, sold stakes to CDH a couple of times since 2006, according to Henan Shuanghui’s 2011 annual report. The investment bank now has a 5.2% stake in the company, while Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. owns 2.76%.

根据河南双汇2011年的财报，高盛曾经持有双汇国际51%的权益，2006年以来几次向鼎晖投资出售权益。这家投资银行现在在双汇国际拥有5.2%的权益，而新加坡的国有投资公司淡马锡控股持有2.76%的权益。

Goldman’s private-equity arm sold some of its stake to CDH Investments from 2007 to 2010, but other investors weren’t as lucky. The secondary market where private-equity firms sell their stakes to their peers only started gaining traction in China in recent years.

高盛的私募股权投资子公司在2007年到2010年间把一些权益出售给了鼎晖投资，但其他投资者就没有这么幸运了。私募公司在二级市场将股权出售给同类公司，而二级市场最近几年才在中国引起关注。

In 2010, the investors explored the possibility of listing Shuanghui by having Shuanghui International’s Shenzhen-listed unit, Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Co., buy the parent company’s assets, according to another person familiar with the matter.

据另外一名知情人士说，2010年，投资者曾研究过双汇在国内上市的可能性，方法是让双汇国际在深圳上市的子公司河南双汇收购母公司的资产。

The deal would have allowed the investors to exit, but they were forced to scrap the plan because local media reports on the parent company’s state affiliations sparked concerns among investors in China, he said.

他说，这桩交易本来可以让投资者退出，但由于中国媒体有关双汇母公司与政府存在关联的报道引发在华投资者担忧，他们后来被迫放弃了这一计划。

Although Shuanghui International is poised to own a global brand name, private-equity owners are “probably under some pressure to exit soon,” says Paul Boltz, lawyer with Ropes & Gray LLP.

瑞格律师事务所(Ropes & Gray LLP)的律师博尔茨(Paul Boltz)说，虽然双汇国际已为拥有国际品牌做好了准备，但私募股权所有者很可能仍面临尽快退出的压力。

A logical exit plan for the private-equity companies would be for Shuanghui International to list on an international exchange like Hong Kong, although weak demand for listings in the city in recent years doesn’t bode well for large IPOs.

对私募股权公司来说，双汇国际在香港这样的国际股票交易市场上市是一个合理的退出方案，尽管对大规模IPO来说，投资者对近年来香港上市股票的疲弱需求不是什么好兆头。

Shuanghui is “a huge company so it needs sizable institutional demand,” which it would get in Hong Kong, said the second person.

上述第二名知情人士说，双汇是个很大的公司，所以需要机构投资者有相当大的需求，而这块需求可在香港得到。

Shuanghui is making the Smithfield acquisition through its Hong Kong-based holding company. “They already have an offshore structure that can be used for an offshore listing,” Mr. Boltz said, adding that Hong Kong would be a “natural” market as it already has welcomed Chinese firms in the food and beverage industry.

双汇目前正通过其香港持股公司来收购Smithfield。博尔茨说，他们已经有了可用于海外上市的离岸架构，还说香港是个“天然”市场，因为它对中国餐饮企业持欢迎态度。

Other large Chinese food companies trading in Hong Kong are China Yurun Food Group Ltd. 1068.HK 0.00% with total assets of 25.6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($3.3 billion), and China Putian Food Holding Ltd. 1699.HK -2.22% with 521 million yuan ($85 million). China Yurun is trading at 24 times 2014 forecast earnings, according to data provider FactsSet. Shuanghui is buying Smithfield at 20 times earnings for this financial year ending April 30, 2014, according to FactSet and calculations by MoneyBeat.

在香港上市的中国其它大型食品公司包括总资产256亿港元的中国雨润食品集团有限公司(China Yurun Food Group Ltd.)和资产为人民币5.21亿元的中国普甜食品控股有限公司(China Putian Food Holding Ltd.)等。据数据提供商FactsSet统计，中国雨润2014年预期市盈率为24倍。FactsSet数据和MoneyBeat的计算结果显示，双汇将以本财年（截至2014年4月30日）市盈率20倍的价格收购Smithfield。

A Hong Kong listing would also give Shuanghui’s employees an opportunity to cash out. Shuanghui’s employees own 30% of the company, according to its website, which says the company has 60,000 employees. It wasn’t immediately clear how many of them have shares in the firm. Shuanghui couldn’t be reached for comment.

如果在香港上市还会给双汇员工一个变现的机会。双汇官网显示，员工拥有公司30%的股权。双汇有员工6万名，不过这些员工中有多少人拥有公司股权目前无法立即得知。记者无法联系到双汇置评。

Another possible exit would be for the private-equity investors to sell their stakes to their peers in the secondary market, which has been particularly robust in China after mainland regulators halted IPO approvals in October. Private-equity investors have been turning to other avenues, including their peers, because they can no longer cash out via the public markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

另一种可能的退出方案是私募股权投资者将所持权益在二级市场上卖给同行。去年10月中国内地监管机构叫停IPO审批后，中国二级市场便尤其活跃。私募股权投资者纷纷转向其它渠道（包括同行），原因是它们没办法在上海和深圳的公开市场套现。

Shuanghui International, which doesn’t disclose its net profit, had sales of $6.2 billion last year, up from $5.5 billion in 2011, according to its website.

双汇国际的官网显示，该公司去年实现销售额62亿美元，高于2011年55亿美元。该公司通常不披露其净利润。