General Mills has announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to sell its North American yogurt business to Lactalis and Sodiaal, two leading French dairy companies, in cash transactions valued at an aggregate $2.1 billion.
Following the completion of the transactions, the U.S. and Canadian businesses will operate independently; Lactalis will acquire the U.S. business, and Sodiaal will add the Canadian business. The proposed transactions are expected to close in calendar year 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
The divestitures encompass the U.S. and Canadian operations of several yogurt brands, including Yoplait, Liberté, Go-Gurt, Oui, Mountain High and :ratio, as well as manufacturing facilities in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Reed City, Michigan, and Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec.
Collectively, the North American Yogurt business contributed approximately $1.5 billion to General Mills’ fiscal 2024 net sales.
General Mills anticipates the combined transactions will be approximately 3% dilutive to adjusted earnings per share in the first 12 months after the close, excluding transaction costs and other one-time impacts. The company expects to use the net proceeds from the transactions for share repurchases.