General Mills Announces Acquisition Of Brazilian Yogurt Maker Carolina

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- General Mills (NYSE: GIS) said today that it has acquired Brazilian yogurt maker Carolina Administracao e Participacoes Societarias Ltda., (Carolina), a privately-held dairy products company headquartered in Ribeirao Claro, Parana, Brazil.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Carolina is a family-owned Brazilian company established in 1969.  A leading regional dairy products producer, Carolina is especially known for its strong regional yogurt brands, Carolina, VeryGurt and Gluck.

Operating primarily in southern and southeastern Brazil, Carolina sources high-quality milk from farmers in the dairy-rich region of Parana, and markets more than 20 different dairy product lines.  Employing more than 390 people in Ribeirao Claro and across the region, Carolina has significant regional operating, sales and distribution infrastructure.    

"We are delighted to add Carolina's strong brands and talented team to General Mills' growing international business," said Chris O'Leary, General Mills' Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer—International.  "Carolina's strong capabilities in yogurt and dairy will accelerate General Mills' growth in Brazil. We plan to invest and build on the strong Carolina product portfolio, leveraging our own expertise and the Carolina team to grow and expand in Brazil – a very important market for General Mills International." 

Carolina founder Maurício Araújo said, "We are pleased to see our Carolina brands and businesses joining General Mills. As a family-owned company, it was important to us to join a company that shared Carolina's values of 'doing the right thing' as we continue to grow our business. The global capabilities of General Mills will help our talented and committed Carolina employee team continue to grow our brands and businesses. We look forward to accelerating the growth of Carolina for years to come."

"Brazil is a strategic market for General Mills, and yogurt is a growing category," added Olivier Faujour, President, Global Yogurt and Ice Cream for General Mills. "Carolina's quality brands and products match perfectly with General Mills' company mission, which is to serve the world by making food people love. General Mills' global dairy capabilities will complement and build upon Carolina's already strong reputation for quality products and dairy 'know-how.'  It should be a perfect fit that will allow us to bring even more delight to Brazilian consumers with superior quality yogurt and dairy products."

As one of the biggest economies in the world, Brazil is an attractive consumer market.  A majority of its 200 million people now belong to the middle class and domestic consumption is an important economic driver.  Yogurt is also an attractive category within the Brazilian market.  Not only is the yogurt category growing strongly, but there is ample room for additional growth, with Brazilian yogurt consumption per capita still well below other key markets in Latin America.

General Mills continues to invest in Brazil, an important market for General Mills International.  The addition of Yoki Alimentos in 2012 more than doubled General Mills' annual sales in Latin America.  Its 2011 acquisition of Yoplait International also greatly expanded General Mills' yogurt portfolio, a business it has continued to expand with the recent entry of Yoplait into China. 

About Carolina: Carolina Administracao e Participacoes Societarias Ltda is a leading regional family-owned Brazilian yogurt and dairy products producer headquartered in Ribeirao Claro, Parana, marketing more than 20 dairy product lines under brands such as Carolina, VeryGurt and Gluck. 

About General Mills:  General Mills is one of the world's leading food companies, operating in more than 100 countries around the globe. Its brands include Cheerios, Yoplait, Haagen-Dazs, Yoki, Pillsbury, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Fiber One, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., USA, General Mills had fiscal 2015 worldwide sales of $17.6 billion. 

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on our current expectations and assumptions. These forward-looking statements, including the statements under the caption "Outlook," and statements made by Mr. Powell, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements. In particular, our predictions about future net sales and earnings could be affected by a variety of factors, including: competitive dynamics in the consumer foods industry and the markets for our products, including new product introductions, advertising activities, pricing actions, and promotional activities of our competitors; economic conditions, including changes in inflation rates, interest rates, tax rates, or the availability of capital; product development and innovation; consumer acceptance of new products and product improvements; consumer reaction to pricing actions and changes in promotion levels; acquisitions or dispositions of businesses or assets; changes in capital structure; changes in the legal and regulatory environment, including labeling and advertising regulations and litigation; impairments in the carrying value of goodwill, other intangible assets, or other long-lived assets, or changes in the useful lives of other intangible assets; changes in accounting standards and the impact of significant accounting estimates; product quality and safety issues, including recalls and product liability; changes in consumer demand for our products; effectiveness of advertising, marketing, and promotional programs; changes in consumer behavior, trends, and preferences, including weight loss trends; consumer perception of health-related issues, including obesity; consolidation in the retail environment; changes in purchasing and inventory levels of significant customers; fluctuations in the cost and availability of supply chain resources, including raw materials, packaging, and energy; disruptions or inefficiencies in the supply chain; effectiveness of restructuring and cost savings initiatives; volatility in the market value of derivatives used to manage price risk for certain commodities; benefit plan expenses due to changes in plan asset values and discount rates used to determine plan liabilities; failure or breach of our information technology systems; foreign economic conditions, including currency rate fluctuations; and political unrest in foreign markets and economic uncertainty due to terrorism or war. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any future events or circumstances.

SOURCE General Mills