Cereal maker Post Holdings Inc is close to a deal to acquire eggs and dairy producer and distributor Michael Foods Group Inc for $2.5 billion, prevailing over a rival bid from Tyson Foods Inc, said a person familiar with the matter.The deal is set to make Post Holdings a major player in the protein market, as healthy food options gain in popularity among consumers. Reuters first reported last week that Post Holdings and Tyson Foods were the final bidders for Michael Foods.News of Post Holdings winning the auction for Michael Foods, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier on Wednesday, drove the company's shares up 6 percent, giving it a market value of around $2.1 billion.Goldman Sachs Group Inc's private equity arm bought Michael Foods from takeover firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in 2010 for around $1.7 billion. Thomas H. Lee retained an ownership stake of about 20 percent as part of that transaction.
Post Holdings, Inc. is a consumer goods company operating in the center-of-the-store, active nutrition and private label food categories. Shares of POST traded higher by 5.66% or $2.93/share to $54.73. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $38.31 and as high as $60.63. On average, 576016 shares of POST exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1728403.
Tyson Foods, Inc. is a food production company. The Company produces, distributes and markets chicken, beef, pork, prepared foods and related allied products. Shares of TSN traded higher by 0.73% or $0.31/share to $42.75. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $23.24 and as high as $44.24. On average, 3743160 shares of TSN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 4068701.
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