Grand Met Bid for Pillsbury Is Extended Again

Grand Metropolitan PLC on Tuesday extended its hostile $5.23-billion tender offer for Pillsbury Co. for the third time, and said Pillsbury shareholders had tendered 79.1% of the company’s outstanding shares.

The $60-a-share offer, which was to expire Monday night, was extended to Nov. 18.

The bid, launched Oct. 4, is conditioned on the removal of Pillsbury’s “poison pill” defense. Judges in two states have left the pill intact despite lawsuits from Grand Met and dissident shareholders. The pill would make a takeover prohibitively expensive.

Grand Met said 67,595,940 shares of Pillsbury common stock had been tendered and not withdrawn by the Monday night deadline.

Pillsbury, which has rejected the offer as inadequate, had no comment on the extension.

Franchisees Meeting

Chairman Philip Smith has told Pillsbury shareholders that they would be better off keeping their stock in light of the food and restaurant company’s proposed spinoff of its Burger King business.