General Mills, Nestle Plan Cereal Joint Venture

General Mills and Nestle S.A. said today they will start up a joint venture to market breakfast cereals.

Under the letter of intent, the two food companies will star “Cereal Partners Worldwide” in Europe, then take the cereals around the world, except the United States and Canada. The companies will share equally in the ownership of and investment in the new joint venture, which will have its headquarters in Europe.

In a joint statement, Bruce Atwater, chairman and chief executive officer of General Mills, and Helmut Maucher, managing director of Nestle, said ready-to-eat cereal is one of the most attractive and fastest-growing major food categories in the world. Consumer demand is growing in response to increased interest in foods that emphasize health, nutrition, convenience and value, they said.

“Through a strategic alliance that combines the cereal expertise and technology of General Mills with the local marketing expertise and sales distribution systems of Nestle, we believe we can accomplish collectively that which would be much more difficult to accomplish individually: to become a major competitive force in the development of worldwide breakfast cereal markets within the next decade,” they said.

“This is intended to be a well-defined and longstanding successful relationship.”