Quaker to Sell U.S. Pet Food Unit to Heinz : Deals: Move follows last week’s unloading of company’s European pet food operation.

Only days after announcing the sale of its European pet food unit, Quaker Oats Co. agreed Monday to sell its North American pet food businesses to H.J. Heinz Co. for $725 million in a deal that will let it focus on its grain-based food and beverage operations.

The sale follows Friday’s announcement of the $700-million sale of Quaker’s European pet food business to the British firm Dalgety.

Wall Street analysts say the deals reflect a trend in the food industry. Increasingly, diversified food companies have been reviewing their operations to see if they want to expand or sell them.

“You either get bigger or you get out,” Oppenheimer & Co. analyst John O’Neil said.

Leaving the pet food business will allow Chicago-based Quaker to focus on its breakfast foods, Gatorade sports drinks and recently acquired Snapple drinks.

“The sale of our North American pet foods business is a logical and important step in the evolving realignment of Quaker’s portfolio of businesses,” Chairman William Smithburg said.

Quaker’s pet food division, with sales of $540 million last year, is No. 2 in the dry dog food market, behind Ralston-Purina Group.

Its major brands include Kibbles ‘n Bits dry dog food, Cycle and Gravy Train canned and dry dog foods, Ken-L Ration canned dog food and Snausages, Pup-Peroni and Pounce pet treats.

Nearly 65% of Quaker’s pet food sales are in dry dog food, a $2.7-billion market in the United States in which Quaker brands hold more than a 17% share.

“It’s a good balance for Heinz,” Wertheim Schroder analyst Robert Cummins said. “Quaker was almost entirely dog food and Heinz is primarily cat food.”

Heinz pet brands include 9-Lives, with 27% of the canned cat food market, Amore canned cat food, Reward and Skippy canned dog food and Meaty Bone and Jerky Treats pet snacks. The unit had more than $600 million in sales last year.

“The acquisition will allow us to continue our drive for sustained growth in the pet food business and will give us the opportunity to realize even lower operating costs,” said Anthony J.F. O’Reilly, Heinz chairman, president and chief executive.

Quaker’s Chicago-based pet food division employs more than 900 people. It operates major manufacturing facilities in Lawrence and Topeka, Kan., and Kankakee, Ill., and has a pet food research and development center in Barrington, Ill.

Heinz pet products is based in Newport, Ky. It has factories in Bloomsburg, Pa.; Terminal Island, Calif.; Biloxi, Miss.; Perham, Minn., and El Paso.

Quaker’s stock closed unchanged at $34 on the New York Stock Exchange. Heinz rose $1.25 to $40.875, also on the NYSE.