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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Blackstone Portfolio Company Reportedly Buying Birds Eye

By Matt Egan

FOXBusiness

Blackstone’s (BX) Pinnacle Brands is expected to acquire frozen-vegetable company Birds Eye Foods for more than $1.3 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The deal, which is expected to be all-cash and is likely to be unveiled as soon as Thursday, would marry Pinnacle, one of the largest U.S. packaged-food companies, with the No. 1 U.S. frozen-vegetable maker, the paper reported. Birds Eye is majority owned by private-equity firm Vestar Capital Partners and 40% owned by Pro-Fac.

Details of the financing package for the deal were not available but it is expected to be at an equally aggressive level as this month’s private-equity leveraged buyout of IMS Health (RX), the Journal reported. IMS Health agreed to a $4 billion leveraged buyout at a multiple of five times earnings last month, a higher level than had been considered reasonable this year, the Journal noted.

Shares of Blackstone, which have soared 138% year-to-date, were inactive in the premarkets Thursday.

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