Jan 27 (Reuters) - Smithfield Foods, the largest pork

processor in the U.S., said it priced its initial public

offering well below its forecast range, raising $521.7 million

for the company and the selling stockholder.

The IPO valued the pork producer at $7.95 billion, ahead of

a market debut that will see the company return to a U.S.

exchange after more than a decade.

The offering was priced at $20 per share, Smithfield said,

below the $23-$27 per share range that would have raised as much

as $939.6 million.

Smithfield raised $260.9 million in the offering, while the

rest was raised by the selling stockholder, a unit of its parent

company WH Group ( WHGRF ).

Part of the proceeds from the IPO will go to Hong Kong-based

WH Group ( WHGRF ), which is expected to remain a majority shareholder.

Coming close on the heels of Venture Global's ( VG ) mega

IPO that failed to meet lofty expectations last week,

Smithfield's debut could set the tone for other candidates

mulling a listing in the coming months.

It may also offer some insight into how investors are

factoring in risks from tariffs proposed by President Donald

Trump. The company employs around 2,500 people in Mexico, and

has identified tariffs as a risk factor in its IPO prospectus.

However, its long history and profitability may boost its

appeal as investors have leaned towards backing tried-and-tested

companies over riskier startups over the past two years.

Its shares will start trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol

"SFD" on Tuesday.

Founded in 1936, Smithfield began as a pork processing

operation named The Smithfield Packing Company. Its portfolio of

brands include Eckrich and Nathan's Famous.

The company was listed in New York from 1999 until 2013,

when WH Group ( WHGRF ) acquired it for $4.7 billion, in what was the

biggest Chinese takeover of a U.S. firm at the time.

Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities and Goldman Sachs are the

lead underwriters for the offering.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Disha Mishra in Bengaluru;

Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Janane Venkatraman and Varun H K)