Did General Mills acquire Edgard & Cooper at a high price?

Belgian magazine Gandola has described the investment amount as a “remarkably high figure,” highlighting General Mills’ strong confidence in the dog and cat food brand.

Most of the amount, $318 million (€285.3M), was allocated to goodwill – a premium paid over the fair value of assets during the purchase of a company. The remaining $118 million (€105.8M) was attributed to the brand.

General Mills made the strategic investment even though 4 Healthy Pets, a brand owned by Edgard & Cooper, was experiencing financial losses at the time of the acquisition. According to the magazine, the deficit of the Belgian pet player reached €24 million ($26.7M) by the end of last financial year.

Financial update

In Q1 financial year (FY) 2025, General Mill’s pet segment witnessed a 1% decline in net sales to $576 million (€516.8M), against $580 million (€520.4M) in the same quarter of FY2024.

However, the multinational reported that sales in Europe – in addition to Australia – grew in the first quarter of this financial year.

A spokesperson from General Mills previously said that Edgard & Cooper is a key player in the European market, which reinforces General Mills’ confidence in the brand’s “potential to drive growth in both existing and new markets.”

The multinational also aims to “revolutionize” the premium, natural pet food segment in which the Belgian business operates.

While neither of the businesses responded to GlobalPETS’ request to share recent performance, Edgard & Cooper previously stated their plans to leverage “General Mills’ marketing and supply chain expertise” to accelerate its growth.