Money | mergers and acquisitions Tyson Wins Hillshire Farms Sweepstakes—for $7.7B Almost $1B more than rival Pilgrim's Pride offered By Kevin Spak Posted Jun 9, 2014 11:38 AM CDT Copied This file photo combo shows a package of frozen Tyson Chicken Nuggets, left, and a package of Hillshire Farm sausage, in Palo Alto, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File) Tyson Foods has won the bidding war to buy Hillshire Brands, topping an offer from rival Pilgrim's Pride by almost a billion dollars, the Wall Street Journal reports. Tyson will pay $63 a share in cash for Hillshire, which makes Jimmy Dean sausages and Ball Park franks, among other food products. The deal values the company at $7.7 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had offered $55 a share. Tyson's CEO explained the big offer by saying that companies like Hillshire "don't become available too often." Read These Next Home Improvement actor arrested for sixth time in 5 years. America's most popular cooking oil is tied to weight gain. Group accused of making sex videos by hacking home cameras. Tommy Lee sells the safe 'that ruined my life.' Report an error