General Mills Sells Green Giant to B&G Foods

General Mills, Inc., has reached a definitive agreement to sell its Green Giant and Le Sueur vegetable businesses to B&G Foods, Inc., 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 Sept. 22. Rothschild acted as financial advisor to General Mills on the transaction.