Companies and Brands

Conagra Gets One Step Closer to Acquiring Pinnacle Foods

Chris Lange

Published: August 27, 2018 11:20 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 6:45 pm

Pinnacle Foods Inc. (NYSE: PF) and Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) shares were relatively muted on Monday despite making another pivotal step to closing their tie-up.

Essentially, the firms received a “no-action letter” from the Canadian Competition Bureau confirming that the Commissioner of Competition does not intend to challenge Conagra Brands’ acquisition of Pinnacle Foods.

The receipt of the “no-action letter” satisfies one of the conditions necessary for completion of this transaction. The transaction is expected to close by the end of calendar year 2018 and is subject to other customary closing conditions.

The deal was announced back in June 2018, in which Conagra Brands will acquire all outstanding shares of Pinnacle Foods in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $10.9 billion, including Pinnacle Foods’ outstanding net debt.

Under the terms of the transaction, Pinnacle Foods shareholders will receive $43.11 per share in cash and 0.6494 shares of Conagra Brands common stock for each share of Pinnacle Foods held. The implied price of $68.00 per Pinnacle Foods share is based on the volume-weighted average price of Conagra Brands’ stock for the five days ended June 21, 2018.

Shares of Pinnacle Foods were last seen at $66.63, with a consensus analyst price target of $68.75 and a 52-week trading range of $52.25 to $70.51.

Conagra was last seen trading at $36.73 a share, with a consensus price target of $42.82 and a 52-week range of $32.16 to $39.43.