ATLANTA (AP) — Poultry producer Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. won its pursuit of the reluctant Gold Kist Inc., saying yesterday its rival had accepted a sweetened $21 per share buyout offer worth $1.1 billion. There could be job cuts in corporate positions after the deal closes.The combined company will be the world’s leading chicken company in terms of production and the third-largest US meat protein company by revenue, according to the companies, which say the combination will help Pilgrim’s Pride compete better in the US and abroad. It would employ 56,000 people.

The offer is $1 per share higher than Pilgrim’s Pride’s initial offer, first announced in August.

Atlanta-based Gold Kist had initially said it wanted to remain on its own, but by last Wednesday, Gold Kist shareholders had tendered 34.1 million shares, or 67 percent of the company’s stock to Pilgrim’s Pride under its $20 a share offer.

Pilgrim’s Pride said the deal will begin helping earnings after the first full year of operations. It expects to save $50 million annually from the acquisition.

Pilgrim’s Pride will also assume about $144 million in Gold Kist’s debt.

O.B. Goolsby, Pilgrim’s Pride’s chief executive officer, said there could be job cuts in corporate positions in functions such as human resources, information technology and accounting.