Ralcorp Spurns ConAgra’s Sweetened $4.9 Billion Takeover Bid

Ralcorp Holdings Inc., the maker of Raisin Bran and Grape-Nuts cereal, spurned a $4.9 billion offer from ConAgra Foods Inc. and adopted a shareholder rights plan to bar its suitor from gaining control of its shares.

The $86-a-share bid isn’t in the best interest of investors, the St. Louis-based company said today in a statement. Ralcorp, the biggest U.S. maker of store-brand foods, is embracing a so-called “poison pill” strategy, a takeover defense that typically gives shareholders the right to buy new stock at a discount.