We look back at the industry’s major mergers, acquisitions and divestments and ponder what comes next.
General Mills’ North American yogurt business
Announced in late 2024, it was one of dairy’s ‘elephant deals’: a $2.1bn divestment that was to redefine North America’s yogurt landscape, particularly in the US.
General Mills opted to shed its yogurt business – including brands Yoplait and :ratio – as it looked to focus on its core segments of pet food, snacking, cereal, ice cream and meals. French dairy co-operative Sodiaal snapped up General Mills’ yogurt portfolio in Canada while Lactalis USA bought the US portion of the business.
Sodiaal was the first to conclude its part of the deal, in January 2025 – netting General Mills around $96m in pre-tax gains. The French co-operative, which acquired Yoplait in Europe in 2021 from General Mills, added the brand’s Canadian operations, along with those of Liberté.
In June 2025, the US Department of Justice waved through Lactalis USA’s acquisition – valued at around $2bn – handing it full ownership of :ratio and Mountain High and, under license, that of Go-Gurt, Yoplait and Liberté.
In late 2025, Lactalis USA entered the GLP-1 race with a potted yogurt product from :ratio specifically formulated to address the nutritional needs of consumers taking weight loss medications.
Unilever’s ice cream demerger
Unilever was yet another CPG major that trimmed its portfolio in order to focus on core businesses – by shedding its ice cream division, including brands Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s.
Instead of selling the business, Unilever opted to spin it off, forming The Magnum Ice Cream Company. The demerger was completed in early December 2025 when Unilever floated TMICC on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges, debuting with a valuation of €8bn.
Described as the largest ice cream company – and one that competes neck in neck with Nestlé co-owned Froneri – the Magnum Ice Cream Company is believed to be better positioned to compete in the fragmented yet lucrative as a separate company rather than as part of a CPG major.
CEO Fernando Fernandez described Ice Cream as ‘a clear outlier’ in Unilever’s portfolio, adding that the company needs to ‘leave that behind’ and focus on future growth through Beauty, Wellbeing and Personal Care.
The Magnum Ice Cream Company’s early moves – such as investment in AI to formulate new products, and expanding production capacity in the UK – suggest that no expense will be spared as the