Pilgrim’s Pride market cap moves to $6.7 billion on takeover talk

GREELEY — Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (Nasdaq: PPC) shares rose 21% in midday trading, hitting a new 52-week high, on a bid by its Brazil-based majority owner to take the chicken and pork processor private.

Brasilia-based JBS SA offered to buy the 20% of PPC it doesn’t own for $26.50 a share. Any deal needs approval “of a majority of the aggregate voting power” of that 20%, the press release from JBS said.

The per-share bid represents a 22% premium on Pilgrim Pride’s trailing 30-calendar-day average, it said.

Shares opened above JBS’ bid and stayed north of $27 Friday; a year ago, shares were…