Industry Shakeup: General Mills to Acquire Blue Buffalo.

In late February, General Mills announced an $8 billion dollar acquisition of leading pet food producer Blue Buffalo Pet Products Inc. Paying a rich valuation at $40 per share, one must wonder why the parent brand of Cheerios and Annie’s is taking this steep dive into the natural pet food market.

With sales flatlined during recent years, General Mills was not necessarily pleasing Wall Street or its patient investors. With that in mind, this move would be understandable, given Blue Buffalo’s strong market position coupled with steady growth. The deal is slated to close by May.

Both 2017 and 2018 have seen big acquisitions in the pet space, with Petsmart acquiring Chewy.com for $3.35 billion.