Pilgrim's Pride Boosts Offer For Hillshire Brands: Reports

(RTTNews) - Chicken products maker Pilgrim's Pride Corp. (PPC), a unit of Brazilian meat giant JBS SA, has boosted its offer for Hillshire Brands Co. (HSH) by more than $1 billion, reports said Monday.

It was on May 27 that Pilgrim's Pride announced a proposal to acquire Hillshire for $45 per share in cash, in a transaction valued at $6.4 billion.

The offer was expected to create fully integrated branded protein leader with combined sales of $12.4 billion across broad portfolio of brands.

Pilgrim's said at that time that its all-cash proposal provides Hillshire shareholders with a substantially superior alternative to Hillshire's pending acquisition of Pinnacle Foods Inc. (PF).

Meanwhile, two days after Pilgrim's made the offer, Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN) offered to acquire Hillshire for $6.8 billion.

Now, the new offer from Pilgrim's values Hillshire at $55 per share or over $6.7 billion.

PPC closed up 1.9 percent on Monday at $25.92.