China's WH Group targets beef and poultry assets in U.S. and Europe

Smithfield Foods Inc's owner, China-based WH Group Ltd (0288.HK), is scouting for U.S. and European beef and poultry assets to buy, in a move that would sharpen its rivalry with global meat packers Tyson Foods Inc and JBS SA.Smithfield Chief Executive Ken Sullivan told Reuters he is interested in the potential of diversifying into other meats to broaden the company's product portfolio, though no deals were imminent."We're a food company," he said. "No one said that we're strictly a pork company."Sullivan did not provide further detail, but parent WH Group is looking for targets in beef and poultry in the United States and Europe, according to Luis Chein, WH Group's director of investor relations. He declined to name specific targets.Chein declined to provide a timeline for expanding into the U.S. beef and poultry business or say how much money the company aims to spend.