Pilgrim’s bets the farm on Hillshire in $6.4B bid

It’s eat or be eaten in this M&A environment.

Pilgrim’s Pride on Tuesday made a $6.4 billion unsolicited bid for rival meat processor Hillshire Brands — likely killing off Hillshire’s proposed $4.3 billion deal for Pinnacle Foods.

Pilgrim’s Pride, the nation’s No. 2 chicken producer, offered $45 a share in cash for Hillshire, a 22 percent pre mium over Friday’s closing price.

Even before Pilgrim’s Pride swooped in with a bid, Hillshire’s plan to buy Pinnacle from Blackstone Group was running into resistance.

A top Hillshire shareholder on Friday told The Post it planned to vote against the Pinnacle deal, joining hedge fund Eminence Capital, which went public with its opposition.

Some Hillshire shareholders believe management cooked up the Pinnacle purchase to keep hungry suitors from circling the company.

Besides Pilgrim’s Pride, Tyson Foods has hinted that it would be interested in Hillshire, whose brands include Jimmy Dean sausages and Ball Park franks.

Pilgrim’s Pride is majority owned by Brazilian beef giant JBS SA, which has been on the hunt for deals and is said to have pursued an earlier bid for Hillshire before it was spun off as a separate company from Sara Lee.

“We continue to strongly believe in the strategic merits and value creation potential provided by the proposed transaction with Pinnacle Foods,” Hillshire said in a statement, adding that its board would “thoroughly review the Pilgrim’s Pride proposal.”

Shares of Hillshire rose 22 percent to close at $45.19 on Tuesday, while Pinnacle’s fell 5.4 percent to $31.48.