At the behest of consumers, food companies have worked desperately to acquire healthier confectionery brands recently, and now General Mills wants to do the same for your pets.
![General Mills is coughing up big dough for the natural pet food company Blue Buffalo](https://20627419.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/20627419/hubfs/The%20Hustle/Assets/Images/370733848-general-mills-acquires-pet-food-company.webp?width=595&height=400&name=370733848-general-mills-acquires-pet-food-company.webp)
The maker of sugary treats like Häagen-Dazs ice cream and Trix looks to buy Blue Buffalo Pet Products for close to $8B in cashola, which would make it the second-largest pet food deal ever.
‘Healthy’ and ‘holistic’ — Blue Buffalo’s motto
With $20B spent on pet care in 2017, the move by General Mills comes at a time when the business of pet care is a boomin’.
Mars bought up some of the big dawgs like Iams, Pedigree, and Whiskas brands, while J.M. Smucker purchased Big Heart Pet Brands (ya’ll know Meow Mix) for $6B in 2015.
To set themselves apart, General Mills is focusing on a company that prides themselves on purveying natural, low-carb, high-protein pet food.
Take it easy, General Measy
Blue Buffalo’s grain-heavy pet food-shaming ads have worked over the past three years, as the company’s sales have grown around 36%, but it’s still possible that General Mills is overpaying.
According to the Wall Street Journal, at $8B, General Mills will pay 6.3 times Blue Buffalo’s 2017 sales, and a whopping 25 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
That said, General Mills has deemed some of their “over-aggressive” acquisitions successful in the past, so maybe they’re onto something. They plan to have the Blue Buffalo deal done by the end of the year.