Boston, MA 05\/13\/2014 (wallstreetpr) \u2013 \u00a0Hillshire Brands Co (NYSE:HSH)<\/b> <\/b>will acquire Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE:PF)<\/b> for $4.3 billion including a transaction of cash and equity. After the announcement, Pinnacle shares jumped by 13% to $34.47, but, Hillshire fell by 3.2% and closed at $35.76.<\/p>\n
The Deal<\/b><\/p>\n
According to the agreement, Hillshire will acquire all the outstanding shares of Pinnacle, in which Pinnacle shareholders will receive $18.00 in cash per each share and an exchange ratio of 0.50 with Hillshire share. The deal valued at $6.6 billion.<\/p>\n
The transaction will close by September 2014 based on the approval of regulatory and shareholders. After closing, Hillshire will be a major stakeholder and Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE:PF) will own 33% stake in the combined company. Blackstone will also represent the board of the combined company as a private equity firm holds 51% of Pinnacle stocks.<\/p>\n
BofA Merrill Lynch and Blackstone Group LP (NYSE:BX)<\/b> served as financial advisors to the transaction.<\/p>\n
The combined advantage<\/b><\/p>\n
Pinnacle serves more than 85% of American households in grocery categories and a leader in frozen foods with most popular brands like Birds Eye and Duncan Hines. In 2013, Pinnacle generated sales of $2.5 billion with adjusted EBITDA of $460 million. The Company expects a growth across all categories of products in 2014 with the addition of Unilever\u2019s Wish-bone.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Hillshire expanded its product portfolio with the acquisition of Van\u2019s Natural Food and Golden Island, and also reported sales of $4 billion in 2013.<\/p>\n
So, the combined company has broad brand portfolios of Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE:PF) and Hillshire that will create a dominant position in the food industry across frozen, refrigerated and grocery categories. The new company will benefit with large customers with more categories of products and expand its operation to a larger extent.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/b><\/p>\n
Based on the current position of Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE:PF), the combined company will provide an opportunity to grow and create value to the shareholders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Boston, MA 05\/13\/2014 (wallstreetpr) \u2013 \u00a0Hillshire Brands Co (NYSE:HSH) will acquire Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE:PF) for $4.3 billion including a transaction of cash and equity. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":22016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[2236],"tags":[1597,6322,1354,6323,6551,6550],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-22010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-blackstone-group-lp-nysebx","tag-hillshire-brands-co-nysehsh","tag-nysebx","tag-nysehsh","tag-nysepf","tag-pinnacle-foods-inc-nysepf","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n