General Mills dives deeper into the pet business

General Mills is diving further into the red-hot pet food market, acquiring Tyson Foods’ animal treat business for $1.2 billion in cash

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- General Mills is diving further into the red-hot pet food market, acquiring Tyson Foods' animal treat business for $1.2 billion in cash, the companies said Friday. Best known for Cheerios, Betty Crocker and Pillsbury, General Mills in 2018 entered the pet food business in a big way, spending $8 billion to acquire Blue Buffalo, a premium brand. Then the pandemic hit, fueling the biggest surge of pet adoptions in recent memory. About 12.6 million U.S. households got a new pet last year after the pandemic was declared in March 2020, according to a COVID-19 Pulse Study by the American Pet Products Association.