Chicago hedge fund Citadel Advisors has taken a stake of roughly 5 percent in Hillshire Brands Co., making it one of the company’s top shareholders.
The investment comes days after the Chicago-based maker of Jimmy Dean sausages and Ball Park Franks announced plans for a big acquisition.
On Monday, Hillshire said that it plans to buy food maker Pinnacle Foods for about $4.3 billion in cash and stock, plus the assumption of debt. The move came as Hillshire tries to grow as a standalone food company after Sara Lee split to form two publicly-traded companies in June 2012.
Hillshire’s other big investors includ Vanguard Group, with about 5.67 percent of the company’s outstanding shares, and American Century Companies Inc., with about 4.4 percent, as of the end of the March. Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP, which owns about 51 percent of Pinnacle, is set to own about 16 percent of Hillshire’s stock after the Pinnacle acquisition is completed.
Citadel’s investment was announced in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It was filed jointly by parties including Citadel Advisors LLC, Citadel GP LLC and Kenneth Griffin, who serves as Citadel’s CEO.
Shares of Hillshire rose 0.5 percent to $36.75 in trading after market hours.
Representatives from Citadel and Hillshire could not be immediately reached for comment.
