French yoghurt giants Yoplait sold to General Mills

General Mills, one of the world’s major food producing companies, has bought the 51% majority in Yoplait that private equity fund PAI had since 2002. The other 49% of the second biggest diary producer in the world stay in the hands of French cooperative SODIAAL. 

In a joint statement both companies explain they want to speed up the worldwide growth of Yoplait, calling the yoghurt sector “one of the most interesting markets in the food sector. While yoghurt consumption is still small in many countries, consumers are becoming ever more interested in easy, healthy food products.” In 2010, Yoplait had a worldwide turnover of 4 billion euro. General Mills has paid over 1 billion dollar (810 million euro) for its majority share.