Deals
Conagra Creates Frozen Food Giant With $8.1 Billion Deal for Pinnacle
- Deal values target at $10.9 billion including assumed debt
- Activist Jana had been pushing Pinnacle to sell itself
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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Conagra Brands Inc. agreed to buy Pinnacle Foods Inc. for about $8.1 billion in cash and stock, gaining freezer-aisle brands such as Birds Eye to capitalize on growing demand for frozen foods.
The deal values Pinnacle at $68 a share, the companies said in a statement Wednesday. The price is 23 percent above Pinnacle’s closing level on April 19, when an activist investor disclosed a stake in the Parsippany, New Jersey-based company and began pushing it to sell itself. Bloomberg News reported last week that Conagra had approached Pinnacle about a deal. Including assumed debt, the deal values Pinnacle at about $10.9 billion.