Hillshire Brands Acquiring Pinnacle Foods, Continuing Buying Spree

Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE:PF), marketer of brands such as Birds Eye and Duncan Hines, will be acquired by Hillshire Brands Co (NYSE:HSH) in a $6.6 billion deal that includes outstanding debt. The deal involved the approval of private equity firm Blackstone Group LP, which owns 51 percent of Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE:PF).  Blackstone took Pinnacle private in 2007 for $2.2 billion.  The deal represents nearly a 300% increase in value from the point Blackstone took the firm private.  It brought the company public in 2013 with a stock market launch. Cost savings equate to profits Hillshire Brands Co (NYSE:HSH) says the…