Smithfield Foods is targeting a valuation of up to $10.73 billion in its New York flotation, the biggest U.S. pork processor said on Tuesday, moving closer to its U.S. stock market return after more than a decade.

A major employer in eastern North Carolina is targeting an initial public offering with a valuation approaching $11 billion. Farmers in the state are watching Smithfield Foods as the Virginia-based company continues to invest in pork production in North Carolina.

Smithfield Foods is seeking to raise as much as $940m in a public share offering, according to the US pork processor's IPO filing. In the document registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),