Tyson Foods tables highest offer for Hillshire
This followed a previous offer of $50 per share, and two previous offers from rival bidder Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, of $45 and $55 per share.
The "unilaterally binding offer" from Tyson – a transaction valued at $8.55bn – is still dependent on the termination of the Hillshire Brands/Pinnacle merger, and remains in place until that time, or 12 December 2014 – whichever is the earliest.
In an announcement from Hillshire Brands yesterday (9 June), it said its board of directors had not yet approved the Tyson Foods offer, "has not changed its recommendation regarding the Pinnacle merger and is not making any recommendation with respect to the Tyson offer".
It added that there was no assurance that any transaction would take place following the offer from Tyson Foods.
Donnie Smith, president and chief executive of Tyson Foods, said: "The Hillshire Brands acquisition would represent a defining moment for Tyson Foods.
"Our strategy has been to grow our prepared foods business, and it has been our aspiration to be a leader in retail prepared foods, just as we are in chicken."
It added that its pork processing operations would benefit from stable and consistent demand for its raw materials for use in Hillshire’s branded, value-added products.
