Dive Brief:
- The antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking additional information from Tyson Foods and Hillshire Brands before it will approve Tyson's takeover of the maker of Ball Park franks, Jimmy Dean sausages, and other processed meats.
- The companies issued a statement saying the regulators are seeking information only about a "very small portion" of the deal.
- Last month a group of consumer groups and farm activists requested that the Justice Department extend its review of the proposed acquisition.
Dive Insight:
The most likely scenario here is that Justice will push Tyson to sell a brand or two in return for approving the takeover. There's nothing unusual in that.
But folks at Tyson and Hillshire know that it's also not impossible that the Justice Department will decide to nix the entire deal. That's essentially what happened when JBS tried to take control of National Beef Packing five years ago.