Food group Conagra Brands has reportedly made an approach to US peer Pinnacle Foods with a view to a possible takeover.
Reuters, quoting unnamed “sources familiar with the matter”, said Conagra’s approach to Pinnacle Foods “took place in the last few weeks”.
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However, the sources told Reuters “there is no certainty that Pinnacle Foods will choose to engage, or that Conagra will pursue a potential deal further”.
“The sources asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential,” Reuters said.
Neither Conagra or Pinnacle had responded to just-food’s invitation to comment on the report at the time of publication.
Pinnacle, the maker of brands including Bird’s Eye and Duncan Hines, reported higher first-quarter sales earlier in the year as growth in the group’s grocery business offset declining revenue from its frozen brands. Total sales increased 1.6% to $766.1m. Pinnacle said its top line was boosted by the “carry-over effect” from the company’s acquisition of Boulder Brands.
Last March, Conagra, owner of Chef Boyardee pasta, Hunt’s ketchup and Reddi-wip, said its annual underlying earnings could be higher than it had previously forecast – but cautioned its full-year sales could come in lower than it had expected.
Earlier this week, J.M. Smucker said it had struck a deal to buy the Wesson cooking oil brand from Conagra for around $285m.
