Boston, MA 05/21/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE:PF), a branded food company in North America with $4 billion in market cap, agreed to join Hillshire Brands Co (NYSE:HSH) for a total of $6.6 billion including debt. Although Hillshire will continue paying dividends to its shareholders including those of Pinnacle that will join its ranks, it will suspend shares repurchase as it diverts the money to pay down its debt. Shareholders of Pinnacle are set to receive $36.48 per share, a premium of almost 20 percent over the closing price Friday once the deal closes.
Although shareholders in the combined company will miss shares repurchase until Hillshire stabilizes its balance, they will enjoy strong benefits in the long run. Hillshire projects that Pinnacle will immediately add to its earnings and the combined company will experience more than $140 million in cost-savings annually three years after closing the deal. Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE:PF) that is owned 51 percent by Blackstone Group LP (NYSE:BX) hired Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) to advise through the deal.
Omega Healthcare Investors Inc (NYSE:OHI), an REIT and investor in income-based healthcare facilities, recently witnessed insider trading. The company’s Senior Vice President R Lee Crabill sold a portion of his stake in the real estate investment trust last week to fetch $363,000 in proceeds. The executive unloaded 10,000 shares at an average price of $36.30 on the open market transaction on Friday May 16. The insider retained 69,056 shares of the company even after the transaction. His remaining stake carries an estimated value of $2.5 million.
Insider sale at Omega Healthcare Investors Inc (NYSE:OHI) are starting to happen at a time when shares of the company have witnessed compelling momentum in recent times amid excitement in the real estate industry. The company earned $0.71 per share in 1Q2014, beating the consensus estimate at $0.69 for the quarter. Its revenue came in at $121 million, beating the estimated $100 million.
Having jumped almost 32 percent for the whole of last week ending May 16, shares of Accelerate Diagnostics Inc (NASDAQ:AXDX) have maintained their uptrend in the current week. The excitement in the stock comes at a time when the maker and seller of medical instrumentation looks to sales improvement because of the anticipated high spending in the healthcare sector.
