June 25, 2008 (LPAC)--Two more mega-deals for food firms--in meat and beer--made headlines today internationally, as meantime the crisis worsens of food scarcity, and agro-commodity speculation. Hedge funds and mega-money operatives, including George Soros, Warren Buffett and others, are figuring prominently in the rush into control positions in the food chain. Besides this week's announcement of the buy-out of commodity units of ConAgra by a George Soros-associated consortium, these are two similar deals:

1. SMITHFIELD in Europe. Plans came out today for a new Paris-based, pan-European meat company, with expected annual sales of over 2 billion euro, to be created out of the merger of Smithfield Foods' European subsidiary, Groupe Smithfield--which is run jointly with Oaktree Capital Partners (a hot money pool in the league of Cerberus Capital et al), and Campofrio, the largest meat processor in Spain, and one of the largest in Europe (exporting to 40 nations). The new outfit will be named Campofrio. Smithfield Foods, based in Virginia, USA, already hived off its U.S. beef operations this Spring, to Brazil-based JBS SA, which, with its other acquisitions, is now the largest beef processor in the U.S., and one of the biggest in the world.
2. ANHEUSER-BUSCH in St. Louis, Missouri, famous for Budweiser-brand beer, came under new pressure today to a $46 billion buy-out offer from InBev, headquartered in Belgium. InBev itself was created in 2004 from the merger of the Belgian Interbrew chain with Brazil-based AmBev, and controls such brands as Stella Artois, Beck's and other famous names.

The text of today's letter was released to the media from the head of InBev, to August Anheuser Busch IV, titled, "Proposal for Combination Creating the World's Leading Beer Company," saying that the funding for the mega-deal has been secured from a "lending group comprised of Banco Santander, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Barclay's Capital, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Fortis, ING Bank, JP Morgan, Mizuho Corporate Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland..." Warren Buffett, already the second largest shareholder in Anhueser-Busch, has so far not said how much he will rake in from the cash offer of $65 a share.