WASHINGTON – The latest round of mergers unleashed in the food industry could just be the start, as a global marketplace and shrinking profits spur more consolidation.
The deals have sparked concern among agricultural analysts that farmers and consumers could be squeezed from less competition, which can result in lower prices paid to producers and higher retail prices at the supermarket.
Tyson Foods Inc. offered last week to pay $6.3 billion for Hillshire Brands, the maker of Ball Park hot dogs and Jimmy Dean sausages. The proposal came two days after chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride Corp., which is 75 percent owned by Brazilian meat giant JBS S.A., offered to buy Hillshire. And a takeover of Hillshire could thwart the company's own effort to acquire packaged-food company Pinnacle Foods Inc., best known for Duncan Hines and its Mrs. Butterworth's syrup, for $4.3 billion.
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