Pilgrim's Pride is Hungry for Hillshire, Topping Tyson Foods' Bid

The bidding war for Hillshire Brands and products like its Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches is escalating. Pilgrim's Pride has topped its previous offer for the company, valuing it at about $55 a share, or $7.7 billion. That's according to a news release by Pilgrim's Pride, which said that it submitted the revised bid to Hillshire on June 1. The new bid tops its prior offer, which valued the company at $6.4 billion, as well as one from Tyson Foods, which offered $50 a share, or $6.8 billion. Pilgrim's called the new offer "financially compelling" for shareholders of both companies, noting it would generate annual cost savings of $300 million from increased efficiencies.