Houlihan Lokey Advises Whitebridge Pet Brands North America

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Whitebridge Pet Brands North America (Whitebridge), a portfolio company of NXMH, has been acquired by General Mills, Inc., from NXMH in a transaction valued at $1.45 billion. NXMH retained the European brands and operations of Whitebridge.

Whitebridge is a leading premium cat feeding and pet treating business. The business, which includes the Tiki Pets and Cloud Star portfolio of brands, is a growth leader in the cat feeding and pet treating segments, which collectively make up $24 billion in retail sales within the broader $52 billion U.S. pet food category. The North American Whitebridge Pet Brands business generated approximately $325 million in the U.S. Nielsen measured retail sales in the past 12 months, predominantly in the pet specialty and e-commerce channels. Whitebridge is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and has manufacturing facilities in Joplin, Missouri.

NXMH is a pan-European investment firm with €4 billion of assets under management. The firm manages an evergreen source of capital dedicated to backing promising brands in the consumer space. The firm targets deploying equity checks in the range of €50 to €200 million with a preference for majority investments.

General Mills makes food the world loves. The company is guided by its Accelerate strategy to boldly build its brands, relentlessly innovate, unleash its scale, and stand for good. Its portfolio of beloved brands includes household names like Cheerios, Nature Valley, Blue Buffalo, Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Totino’s, Annie’s, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki, and more. General Mills generated fiscal 2024 net sales of $20 billion. In addition, the company’s share of nonconsolidated joint venture net sales totaled $1 billion.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Whitebridge.

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