The transaction should close by the first quarter of next year, Pinnacle said today in a statement. The deal will be funded with new debt financing at the company and an equity contribution from New York-based Blackstone, the world's biggest private-equity company.

The Birds Eye purchase is the seventh-largest U.S. private equity deal of 2009 and Blackstone's second-biggest of the year, after its planned acquisition of Anheuser-Busch InBev NV's theme-park business for as much as $2.7 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Rochester, New York-based Birds Eye has annual sales of more than $930 million and says it holds a 27 percent share of the U.S. market for frozen vegetables.

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Buyouts are coming back from a two-year drought. Through yesterday, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rallied 64 percent from its March 9 low, and loan prices as measured by the S&P/LSTA U.S. Leveraged Loan 100 Index gained a record 46 percent this year.

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Debt financing for the purchase will consist of senior secured credit facilities and senior unsecured bonds, according to today's statement. Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse Group AG, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC Holdings Plc and Macquarie Capital will arrange the financing.

"Early in the harvest, it looked like we would have plenty of pumpkin, but Mother Nature had other plans for us," the Swiss food company said on the Web site. Nestle said it will increase planting next year.

Libby's has an 80 percent to 90 percent share of the canned pumpkin market, according to Roz O'Hearn, a Nestle spokeswoman in the U.S. Libby's has a series of recipes for alternatives to pumpkin pie such as Nestle Toll House chocolate chip pie on the Web site. Thanksgiving takes place Nov. 26 in the U.S.

The product is still on shelves in supermarkets in the U.S., though Nestle's inventory is running out. After it does, Nestle will not can any more pumpkins until the next harvest in August 2010, O'Hearn said. "If it's important to you, you'd best go buy it now," she said. All the pumpkins used by Libby's are planted in about 5,000 to 6,000 acres of farmland near Morton, which got double its normal amount of rain recently, she added.

The U.S. chain of burrito restaurants said the majority of its growth in 2010 will be in the United States, but it continues to look for additional sites in London and also has begun to look for locations in Paris and Munich, but has no timelines for those markets.

Costco says it is no longer carrying Coca-Cola products in its stores nationwide due to a pricing dispute with the beverage maker. The Issaquah, Wash.-based wholesale club operator would not discuss the matter further. But a Costco executive confirmed Monday that the company is no longer carrying products from the world's largest soft drink maker.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. says it won't comment on on-going negotiations but said Costco is an important customer that it is committed to working with "in a spirit of fairness."

The company is researching the option, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregg Steinhafel said yesterday in an interview at Target's Minneapolis headquarters, adding that the retailer has no definitive plans or sites for such stores. "We know that consumers in dense urban areas love Target," Steinhafel said. "We have to work harder at trying to get a smaller Target in those areas."

Target plans to open more U.S. stores in metropolitan areas as well as remodel existing locations to add groceries and encourage more frequent visits. On its earnings call yesterday, the company said it's planning for a "modest" decrease in fourth-quarter sales at stores open at least a year as shoppers continue to pare discretionary spending.

Tests at Target's Atlantic Terminal store in Brooklyn and two or three other urban sites may help the retailer prepare for smaller formats, Steinhafel said. At those locations, Target pruned the number of items available by as much as 25 percent by cutting certain sizes and colors of products to ensure the stores are well-stocked, he said. Target’s general merchandise stores average 128,000 square feet.

The response to Levi Strauss put it at 83 on the customer satisfaction meter, up 6.4 percent from 78 a year ago. That's just below Levi's all-time high of 84 in 1994 — and the first time the brand has held that much appeal for the 100,000 people polled annually about their buying habits in the 15 years since then. The satisfaction index is pegged to a baseline of 100.

The classic denim brand has been lifted, in part, by its optimistic, youthful, pioneering "Go Forth" marketing message, said spokeswoman Erica Archambault. "It is a reminder that Levi's are jeans of people who work hard, are self-reliant and independent." Also clicking with shoppers, Archambault said, are "innovative" finishes, such as Levi's "rips and repairs, destructed look."

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Like Levi Strauss, Liz Claiborne received its best customer reviews since 1994, advancing 3.8 percent to score an 82 (versus 84 in the first-ever index). Affordable offerings in Liz Claiborne's Kate Spade and Juicy Couture collections, as well as the addition of Isaac Mizrahi to design Liz Claiborne New York, led consumers to "see more value" in the company's apparel, Fornell said.

St. Louis-based Save-A-Lot, a wholly owned subsidiary of Supervalu Inc. (NYSE: SVU), plans to double its 1,200 U.S. store count in five years, and metro Atlanta is one of the markets it will target, said Rick Meyer, vice president of market development.

"A key part of our growth strategy is the Southeast, and that includes greater Atlanta," he said. "We see an opportunity in Atlanta. We have refocused on Atlanta and we feel excited about that."

Researchers claim food also speeds up the metabolism helping the body get rid of the booze more quickly. Elin Roberts, of Newcastle University's Centre for Life said: "Food doesn't soak up the alcohol but it does increase your metabolism helping you deal with the after-effects of over indulgence. So food will often help you feel better. "Bread is high in carbohydrates and bacon is full of protein, which breaks down into amino acids. Your body needs these amino acids, so eating them will make you feel good."

Ms Roberts told The Mirror: "Bingeing on alcohol depletes neurotransmitters too, but bacon contains a high level of aminos which tops these up, giving you a clearer head." Researchers also found a complex chemical interaction in the cooking of bacon produces the winning combination of taste and smell which is almost irresistible.

The reaction between amino acids in the bacon and reducing sugars in the fat is what provides the sandwich with its appeal. Ms Roberts said: "The smell of sizzling bacon in a pan is enough to tempt even the staunchest of vegetarians. There's something deeper going on inside. It's not just the idea of a tasty snack. There is some complex chemistry going on.

This year's survey, released yesterday, put the cost of feeding 10 people at $42.91. The grocery bill fell 3.8 percent, the steepest reduction since its 4.3 percent drop at the start of this decade. The slump was also the first since 2004.

"Consumers are benefiting at the grocery store from significantly lower energy prices" and the effects of a U.S. recession, Jim Sartwelle, an economist at the bureau, said in a statement. Crude oil, for example, has cost 44 percent less this year on average than it did in the same period of last year in New York trading.

Milk dropped the most out of a dozen items surveyed, according to the bureau. The cost of a gallon of whole milk fell 92 cents to $2.86. Turkey slid 44 cents to $18.65, based on the cost of a 16-pound bird. These two items accounted for most of the overall decline, amounting to $1.70.