Sep 12 – General Mills (GIS.N) said on Thursday it would sell its North American yogurt business to French dairy companies Groupe Lactalis and Sodiaal for $2.1 billion.
Lactalis will acquire the U.S. business and Sodiaal will acquire the Canadian business, the company said.
Askume reported in April that General Mills was working with investment bank JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) to attract interest from potential buyers in the business , which includes brands such as Yoplait and Liberté.
Packaged food companies are divesting products that do not achieve high growth to cut costs, while expanding their core brands to meet the needs of consumers looking for cheaper alternatives.
Chief Executive Jeff Harmening said in a statement that the divestiture would help focus on profitable key brands.
Yoplait faces stiff competition from privately held yogurt brand Chobani and Dannon’s (DANO.PA) Dannon brand in the United States.
The North American yogurt business contributed approximately $1.5 billion of General Mills’ fiscal year 2024 net sales.
The Golden Valley, Minn.-based company expects the deal, which will close in 2025, to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share by approximately 3% in the first 12 months following the transaction.
General Mills is in talks to sell North American yogurt production to companies including Lactalis and Sodiaal, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
Yoplait was founded by a group of French dairy farmers in 1964. In 1977, the company partnered with General Mills through a franchise agreement that gave the maker of Bisquick pancake mix exclusive rights to market the brand in the United States.
Then in 2011, General Mills acquired a 51% stake in Yoplait from private equity firm PAI Partners and French dairy cooperative Sodiale for $1.2 billion and retained the remaining shares.
In 2021, General Mills sold Yoplait’s European operations to Sodiaal.
