General Mills Continues to Reshape Portfolio
Food company General Mills continues to reshape its portfolio with strategic divestitures and acquisitions. Initially announced on May 25, it has now completed the sale of its Helper main meals and Suddenly Salad side dishes businesses to Eagle Family Foods Group in a cash transaction valued at approximately $610 million. Net sales for the Helper and Suddenly Salad businesses totaled approximately $235 million in fiscal 2021.
Cleveland-based Eagle Foods, a portfolio company of Kelso & Company, is a producer and marketer of canned sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk products and retail snack foods, distributed through U.S. retail channels, foodservice and export, U.S. military and private label channels. The acquisition from General Mills signals Eagle's latest move to further diversify its own food platform by creating snacks, baking, and meals and sides platforms to help retailers grow center store category.
Meanwhile, General Mills recently complemented its fast-growing frozen baked goods portfolio. The company acquired TNT Crust last month. TNT Crust is a manufacturer of partially baked, self-rising and better-for-you pizza crusts for regional and national pizza chains, foodservice distributors and retail outlets. St. Charles, Mo.-based TNT Crust was a portfolio company of Peak Rock Capital.
The TNT Crust business has generated double-digit compound annual net sales growth over the past four years, with net sales totaling approximately $100 million in 2021. As part of the acquisition, General Mills has also acquired two manufacturing facilities in Green Bay, Wis., and one manufacturing facility in St. Charles, Mo.
These moves follow General Mills’ other portfolio-reshaping efforts during fiscal 2022, announcing or closing seven transactions expected to increase the company’s top- and bottom-line growth profile over the long term. This includes the acquisition of the Nudges, True Chews and Top Chewspet treats brands in North America.
For its recent fourth quarter, ended May 29, General Mills reported that net sales increased 8% to $4.9 billion and organic net sales increased 13%. Operating profit increased 85% to $1.0 billion while constant-currency adjusted operating profit increased 21 percent.
“We plan to build on our strong momentum in fiscal 2023 by continuing to compete effectively, investing in our brands and capabilities, and reshaping our portfolio,” said General Mills Chairman and CEO Jeff Harmening. “Importantly, our board reinforced its confidence in our performance and outlook by approving a 6% increase in our dividend, underlining our commitment to driving strong returns for General Mills shareholders over the long term.”
The General Mills portfolio of brands includes Cheerios, Nature Valley, Blue Buffalo, Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Annie’s, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., General Mills generated fiscal 2022 net sales of U.S. $19.0 billion. In addition, the company’s share of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totaled U.S. $1.1 billion.
