In Brief : Tyson Ready to Up Holly Farms Bid

A Tyson Foods official said today that the company is preparing to raise its bid for Holly Farms Corp. to $63 a share and that the deal is very close to completion.

Holly Farms directors met in New York on Wednesday to consider takeover bids from the Springdale-based Tyson and from ConAgra of Omaha, Neb. Tyson previously offered $60 a share.

“They haven’t really put the stamp of approval on it yet,” said Bob Justus, Tyson vice president for community relations. “There are little complications we think are sure to be ironed out.” Meanwhile, a spokesman for Holly Farms in Memphis, Tenn., said, “As of 8:15 no decision has been made. And without a decision there is no announcement.”

“I don’t think anyone has more at stake than Tyson,” said Leeam Lowin, a Greenwich, Conn., investor and former Holly Farms shareholder. “Chicken is their whole world. ConAgra is into other things. If there is no deal, Tyson would have the most likelihood of having troubled times in the future.”

Officials on all sides of the long-running battle for control of Holly Farms and leadership of the U.S. chicken industry declined comment Wednesday.