Hillshire Brands merger with Pinnacle Foods off the table after deal with Tyson Foods.

Tyson Foods has won the bidding war for Hillshire Brands - formerly known as Sara Lee Corporation - against its biggest competitor in the U.S. fresh chicken meat market, Pilgrim’s Pride.

The company offered to buy the maker of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausages for $63 per share in cash, beating Pilgrim’s Pride’s final offer by $8 per share.

Hillshire Brands’ announcement to acquire Pinnacle Foods earlier last month triggered a series of unsolicited bids by two of the world’s largest meat processing companies to acquire it. The process finally ended last weekend with a rapid-fire auction organized by Hillshire Brands’ brokers, Centerview Partners and Goldman Sachs.

Tyson Foods’ winning offer values Hillshire Brands’ equity at ~$8 billion, a 70% premium to its closing price on May 9, which was the last traded price just before Hillshire Brands announced its plans to acquire Pinnacle Foods on May 12. Apart from this, Tyson Foods will also take ownership of Hillshire Brands’ $0.55 billion outstanding long-term debt, net of cash and cash equivalents.

The deal is contingent on Hillshire Brands terminating its proposed merger with Pinnacle Foods. However, unlike Pilgrim’s Pride, Tyson Foods has not offered to pay Hillshire Brands the $0.16 billion termination fee it would be liable to pay if it cancels the plan to acquire Pinnacle Foods.