November 27/Omaha, Neb./Associated Press -- ConAgra Foods is buying the private-label food maker Ralcorp for about $5 billion, which will make it North America’s biggest manufacturer of cereals, crackers and other packaged foods sold under store brands.
The deal caps a year of acquisitions for ConAgra, which makes Banquet, Chef Boyardee and Marie Callender’s. In the past year, the company also snapped up brands including National Pretzel, Bertolli frozen meals and Del Monte Canada.