Here’s the deal: Conagra is buying Pinnacle Foods Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $10.9 billion that will help the food company expand in the frozen food and snacks categories. Pinnacle’s brands include Birds Eye, Duncan Hines and Hungry-Man. Chicago-based Conagra has brands such as Reddi-wip, Hunt’s, Healthy Choice and Slim Jim. Pinnacle shareholders will own about 16% of the combined company. Read the full story.
GE shuffle: Baker Hughes just joined the General Electric family a year ago, but financially struggling GE is publicly stating it wants an “orderly separation” from the Houston oilfield services firm in the next two to three years. As The Houston Chronicle reports, GE Chief Executive John Flannery says Baker Hughes is best positioned outside of GE. The company is also planning to separate from its health care and transportation businesses as a slimmed-down GE focuses on aviation, power and renewable energy. Read the full story.
Taxi trials: Uber won an appeal on Tuesday to regain its taxi license in London after agreeing to stricter government oversight, a crucial victory for efforts by its new chief executive to revamp the company’s grow-at-all-costs culture despite efforts worldwide to regulate it more closely, The New York Times reports. The case could serve as a template for other cities looking to extract concessions from Uber. Read the full story.
