Hillshire Brands Co., maker of Jimmy Dean sausage and Ball Park hot dogs, has acquired Van’s Natural Foods from private equity firm Catterton Partners for approximately $165 million. The acquisition will expand Hillshire’s breakfast offerings including waffles, pancakes, and cereals and will extend Hillshire’s presence into the ‘natural’ food segment. The deal is also indicative of the recent trend of packaged food companies diversifying through acquisitions in response to sluggish consumer spending and a shift in tastes toward foods that are perceived as healthy or natural. Hillshire is the latest meat-centric company to add non-meat products to its portfolio. Hormel Foods Corp. bought Skippy peanut butter while Tyson Foods recently bought pizza and tortilla chip brands. Hillshire Brands, which has posted $4 billion in annual revenue has added a number of boutique brands in recent years. In 2011 the company acquired Aidells, an all-natural chicken sausage manufacturer. Analysts believe that the purchase of Van’s, which is expected to post revenue of $60 million this year, could help offset weak sales in some of Hillshire’s other segments of its business such as deli meats.
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