General Mills To Sell Green Giant To B&G Foods

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MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- General Mills, Inc., (NYSE: GIS) announced today it has reached a definitive agreement to sell its Green Giant and Le Sueur vegetable businesses to B&G Foods, Inc., (NYSE: BGS) for approximately $765 million in cash, subject to an inventory adjustment at closing.

General Mills will continue to operate the Green Giant business in Europe and select other export markets under license from B&G Foods. 

The sale reinforces General Mills' strategic priority to shape its portfolio for growth, focusing its resources on the brands, categories, and geographic markets that have the greatest future growth opportunities.

The Green Giant and Le Sueur businesses included in the proposed transaction, comprised of the U.S., Canada, and select other markets, generated annual net sales of approximately $585 million in fiscal 2015. 

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close by the end of the calendar year.  General Mills expects to use the net proceeds for share repurchases and debt reduction.  The company anticipates the transaction will be dilutive to fiscal 2016 earnings per share in the range of approximately 5 to 7 cents, excluding transaction costs and a one-time gain on the sale. 

General Mills will provide additional details about the impact of the transaction when it reports its fiscal 2016 first-quarter results on September 22, 2015.

Rothschild acted as financial advisor to General Mills on the transaction.

About General Mills: General Mills is one of the world's leading food companies, operating in more than 100 countries around the world.  Its brands include Cheerios, Fiber One, Haagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more.  Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., USA, General Mills had fiscal 2015 worldwide sales of US $18.7 billion, including the company's US $1.1 billion proportionate share of joint-venture net sales.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the anticipated timing and completion of the transaction, the use of proceeds from the transaction and the impact of the transaction on future earnings per share.  These forward-looking statements are based on facts and circumstances known to us as of the date the statements are made and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from those set forth in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, obtaining necessary approvals and consents for the transaction, fulfillment of other transaction conditions, economic conditions, and overall business and capital allocation strategy.  See "Risk Factors" in our fiscal 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties applicable to our business. The company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE General Mills, Inc.