Nathan's Hot Dogs Bought Out By Hong Kong WH Foods

Another American icon sold out to foreigners.

Nathan’s Famous, which opened as a 5-cent hot dog stand in Coney Island more than a century ago, has been sold to packaged meat giant Smithfield Foods in an all-cash $450 million deal, the companies announced Wednesday. Smithfield is 100% owned by Hong Kong-based WH Groups. The company is the single largest pork producer in the world.
Smithfield, which has held rights to produce and sell Nathan’s products in the U.S. and Canada and at Sam’s Clubs in Mexico since 2014, will acquire all of Nathan’s outstanding shares for $102 each.
Like almost every food company, Nathan’s has been under significant inflationary pressure. Nathan’s sales costs of branded products rose 27% compared with last year in its most recent quarter, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. There was a 20% increase in the average cost per pound of hot dogs, it said.
Nathan Handwerker, a Polish immigrant, opened the first Nathan’s hot dog stand on Coney Island in 1916 with a $300 loan, according to the company. After opening a handful of other locations around New York over the years, the Handwerker family sold the Nathan’s Famous business to investors in 1987. The franchise has continued to expand.
The flagship Coney Island shop, sits on same lot where Handwerker opened his first hot dog stand. 

Smithfield, which also owns the Gwaltney bacon and Armour frozen meat brands, rang up more than a billion dollars in operating profit in 2024 on sales of $14.1 billion.
Smithfield shares were unchanged in midday trading Wednesday at $23.39.
In fiscal 2025, Nathan’s reported profit of $24 million on revenue approaching $150 million. It’s acquisition is expected to close in the first half of this year.