No swan song for Swanson TV dinners; manufacturer sells for healthy profit.(Private Label)

Just when the frozen TV dinner was approaching its 50th anniversary, it seemed as though nobody wanted to buy the very company that launched the concept. But what a big difference two years can make!

After turning around the bankrupt firm that produces Swanson dinners, Hicks, Muse Tate & Furst Inc. has sold Pinnacle Foods, to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s JPM.N private equity arm for $485 million.

Hicks made a 31% profit on the deal, having paid $370 million for Pinnacle in September 2001. Pinnacle, based in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, had in turn acquired Swanson along with the Hungry Man and Great Starts breakfast brands from Vlasic Foods, a company spun off by …