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, 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 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.
Nathan’s has an outsized cultural presence in the U.S. both because of its history and the famous, or infamous, hot dog-eating contest held at its flagship Coney Island shop, where contestants from around the world gather every July 4 to see who can down the most hot dogs in 10 minutes.
The restaurant sits on same lot where Handwerker opened his first hot dog stand.
American Joey Chestnut is the reigning Nathan’s hot dog-eating champion after eating 70.5 hot dogs and buns last year. Chestnut has won 17 of the last 19 events, setting a record in 2021 after wolfing down 76 hot dogs and buns.
While the first recorded hot dog-eating contest was held in 1972, Nathan’s says informal contests began the year the stand opened early in the 20th century. It says the 2025 contest was its 103rd.
Smithfield said Wednesday that the event, which has been televised on ESPN with a crowd estimated at 30,000 at Coney Island each year, will continue.
Smithfield said it expects to achieve annual savings of about $9 million within two years of closing the deal.
“As a long-time partner, Smithfield has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to investing in and growing our brand while maintaining the utmost quality and customer service standards,” said Nathan's CEO Eric Gatoff.
Nathan's board of directors, which own or control nearly 30% of the outstanding shares of Nathan’s Famous common stock, approved the buyout and agreed to recommend to its shareholders to vote in favor of the deal.
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.
FILE - Joey Chestnut, winner of the 2021 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest, poses for photos in Coney Island's Maimonides Park, July 4, 2021, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The active New York Mets acquired ace pitcher Freddy Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers from Milwaukee on Wednesday night in a trade that sent two prized young players to the Brewers.
Milwaukee received pitcher Brandon Sproat and minor league infielder/outfielder Jett Williams. Both were rated among the game's top 100 prospects by Baseball America.
Peralta gives the new-look Mets a frontline starter after their rotation faltered in the second half of a hugely disappointing 2025 season. The move came hours after New York formally introduced free agent addition Bo Bichette at a Citi Field news conference, and one night after the team obtained talented center fielder Luis Robert Jr. in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.
“Acquiring Freddy adds another established starter to help lead our rotation,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said in a statement. “Throughout the offseason, we sought to complement our rotation with another front-end pitcher, and we’re thrilled we are able to bring Freddy to the Mets.”
Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts last season, when he led the National League in wins and finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting. He struck out 204 batters in 176 2/3 innings and earned his second All-Star selection.
The 29-year-old Peralta hasn't been on the injured list since 2022, when the right-hander was sidelined by a strained lat and later elbow inflammation. He is set to make $8 million this season and can become a free agent following the World Series. He is the latest former Brewers player acquired by Stearns, who ran Milwaukee’s front office from 2015-23.
“He obviously knows the players well. Look, he and I have worked very well together for many, many years. I obviously care about him a lot," Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said. "Today’s his anniversary and I was at his wedding. We go back a long way. I think I might have ruined his anniversary dinner. Look, he’s a dear friend. Hopefully, again, these are the types of trades that work out for both guys.”
Myers, 27, was 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA in 25 starts and two relief appearances as a rookie in 2024 before going 1-2 with a 3.55 ERA in six starts and 16 relief outings last year as Milwaukee won its third consecutive division title and advanced to the NL Championship Series.
“Over the past two seasons, Tobias has become an extremely valuable major league pitcher,” Stearns said. “His ability to pitch out of both the rotation and bullpen allows him to help our team in multiple ways.”
Peralta's departure marks the third straight offseason in which the cost-conscious Brewers have traded a star pitcher entering the final year of his contract.
Two years ago, they dealt 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to Baltimore for infielder Joey Ortiz and left-hander DL Hall. Last winter, the Brewers sent two-time All-Star reliever Devin Williams to the New York Yankees for left-hander Nestor Cortes and third baseman Caleb Durbin.
“These decisions are always tough," Arnold said. "We loved having Freddy Peralta here and everything he meant to this franchise. I just had an emotional call with him.”
Burnes and Williams both spent just one season with the teams that acquired them from Milwaukee before signing elsewhere in free agency. Burnes agreed to a $210 million, six-year contract with Arizona before the 2025 season, and Williams signed a $51 million, three-year deal with the Mets last month.
Although the Brewers won’t have Peralta to anchor their rotation, they do bring back two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff, who accepted the team's $22,025,000 qualifying offer. Woodruff went 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA last year after missing the 2024 season with a shoulder injury.
Hard-throwing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski got called up last June and was quickly picked for the All-Star team as a rookie. He finished 5-3 with a 4.36 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 66 innings.
“We feel we have a really good core of starters to deal from,” Arnold said. “I still feel like we’ll have a very strong rotation.”
Arnold said Sproat and Williams will compete for spots on the opening-day roster.
The 25-year-old Sproat made his major league debut in September and went 0-2 with a 4.79 ERA in four starts for the Mets, who selected him in the second round of the 2023 amateur draft from the University of Florida. He was rated the fifth-best prospect in New York's system by MLB.com.
“He’s a guy we’ve liked going back to the draft. He’s major league ready. He’s going to compete for a spot in our rotation,” Arnold said. "This guy has incredible stuff. Very high octane, really good movement on his four-seamer and two-seamer. Really good secondary weapons and a really good changeup.”
The 5-foot-7 Williams, 22, batted .261 with 17 homers, 34 doubles and 52 RBIs in 130 games combined at Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse last year. He was drafted No. 14 overall by the Mets in 2022 out of high school in Texas and was their third-rated prospect, according to MLB.com.
“This kid’s a gamer. He’s not that big, but I can tell you he plays with a ton of heart and he’s got incredible tools,” Arnold said. "He’s one of the fastest players in the minor leagues. I think his versatility is something that’s going to fit very, very well for this team.”
Peralta is 70-42 with a 3.59 ERA and 1,153 strikeouts in 931 innings over eight major league seasons, all with Milwaukee. He joins a Mets rotation that also includes Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga.
Peralta ranks second in the majors with 40 wins since 2023. He and Dylan Cease are the only two pitchers with at least 200 strikeouts in each of the past three years.
To open space on their 40-man roster, the Mets designated right-hander Cooper Criswell for assignment.
AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee in Milwaukee and AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
FILE - Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta walks to the dugout after the top of the fifth inning in Game 2 of baseball's National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oct. 14, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
David Stearns, President of Baseball Operations for the New York Mets, speaks during an introductory press conference for Bo Bichette, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
