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.
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.