Pilgrim's bid for Hillshire puts Pinnacle deal in peril

Shares in Hillshire soared almost 23 percent on word of the bid, which landed two weeks after the maker of Hillshire lunch meats and Jimmy Dean Sausages offered to buy Pinnacle Foods Inc (PF.N), known for its Birds Eye frozen vegetables, in a $4.3 billion deal. Pilgrim's competing overture, which requires Hillshire to drop its Pinnacle bid, also signaled an aggressive return to deal making by Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS SA (JBSS3.SA), which owns about 75 percent of Pilgrim's and recently cut its debt. A buying spree launched in 2005 transformed JBS into the world's biggest beef producer with more than 14 major acquisitions in six years, including U.S. rivals Swift, Smithfield Beef and Pilgrim's Pride.



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