Betty Crocker, Doughboy to Wed
Mark down 2000 as the summer of the packaged goods mega-merger. The dust hadn’t even settled on Philip Morris’s planned acquisition of Nabisco (August PROMO) when London-based Diageo PLC said it would sell its Pillsbury foods division to General Mills for $10.5 billion. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
With $13 billion in annual sales, the combined Minneapolis operations of General Mills and Pillsbury will be the fifth-largest food company in the world, behind Nestle, PM’s combined Kraft Foods/ Nabisco operation, the soon-to-merge Unilever and Bestfoods, and ConAgra (which just bought International Home Products).
Diageo will initially hold a 33-percent share of the merged business, although the company has said it will gradually sell off its stake.
In a related move, Diageo said it will combine the operations of spirits division United Distillers & Vintners with beer outfit Guinness. The holding company also plans to spin off a portion of Miami-based Burger King, a move that has the QSR chain’s franchisees up in arms.
Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific will acquire paper-product rival Fort James Corp. for $11 billion in cash, stock, and debt assumption, creating the world’s largest manufacturer of tissue products and a company with nearly $25 billion in total sales. Packaged goods brands include Georgia-Pacific’s Coronet and Sparkle, and Deerfield, IL-based Fort James’s Brawny and Quilted Northern.
The Snapple Beverages division of Triarc Beverage Group, White Plains, NY, and North Canton, OH-based Diebold, Inc. have joined to test a new outdoor-advertising program this summer. Called Snapple Wrap, the effort will cover selected ATMs in six states with a vinyl wrap bearing the Snapple logo.
Major League Soccer, New York City, signed a sponsorship deal with Dairy Management, Inc., Rosemont, IL, and the National Fluid Milk Processor Education Program, Washington, DC, that put “Got Milk?” logos on the jerseys of players in the league’s July 29 all-star game. The agreement covers all 12 MLS teams through the 2001 season, and next year will feature special game programs, tickets, and player tie-ins.
Online reward provider MyPoints.com is partnering with San Francisco neighbor NextCard, an issuer of consumer credit on the Internet, to offer the MyPoints MasterCard. MyPoints members, who earn redeemable points for responding to e-mail and Web-based offers, visiting Web sites, shopping, and other online and off-line transactions, will now earn additional points for each dollar spent when they use the branded MasterCard.
HEAD HUNTING New York City-based executive search firm Gundersen Partners LLC acquired Bucher/ Rugman, London. The U.K. recruiting firm, which specializes in placements at consumer packaged goods and luxury product companies, will be renamed Gundersen Bucher Rugman and expand into Gundersen’s specialty, marketing and advertising.
PAPER AND PLASTIC Amko Plastics, a Cincinnati-based maker of plastic packaging, merged with Interstate Packaging Corp., Walden, NY, which manufacturers paper shopping bags. The combined companies, officially Amko Packaging Corp., will be marketed as Ampac and headquartered in Cincinnati.
BIGGER BLUE Armonk, NY-based IBM acquired Aragon Consulting Group with an eye toward offering marketing research services for Internet clients. Based in St. Louis, 18-year-old Aragon offers market research, strategic planning, and brand positioning for U.S., Canadian, and U.K. clients including Toyota, Bank of America, Blue Shield of California, and The Chicago Tribune.
STARRY OUTLOOK Outlook Label Systems, Neenah, WI, has acquired Troy, OH-based Star Labels from DocuSystems. The deal combines Star’s specialization in making tags and pressure-sensitive labels for optical products, batteries, health and beauty aids, and other products with Outlook’s services for retail and industrial clients. A subsidiary of Outlook Group Corp., Outlook Label provides packaging and label materials, promotional packaging, commercial printing, and related services.
NEVER MIND Houston-based Bent Pencil, owner of retail marketing services company AdPlex, terminated its planned acquisition of Peoria, IL-based Multi-Ad Services (May PROMO). The two sides could not reach an agreement “on valuation,” according to a release.
