General Mills Announces Definitive Agreements to Acquire Yoplait Interests

General Mills GIS said today that it signed definitive agreements with PAI partners and Sodiaal to acquire a 51 percent controlling interest in Yoplait S.A.S. and a 50 percent interest in a related entity that holds the worldwide Yoplait brands for approximately €810 million. Sodiaal, the leading French dairy cooperative, will hold the remaining ownership stakes in both entities. Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, Yoplait is the second largest brand in the global yogurt market, a category with 2010 retail sales totaling approximately US $65 billion. Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval. General Mills currently expects the transaction to close during the first quarter of its 2012 fiscal year, which will begin on May 30, 2011.