Dreyer’s Buys More of Haagen-Dazs Operation

Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Holdings Inc. said Wednesday that it bought the Haagen-Dazs ice cream shop franchise business in the U.S. from General Mills Inc., taking control of all remaining North American operations associated with the premium ice cream brand.

In June, Nestle purchased control of Oakland-based Dreyer’s and transferred its North American rights to the Haagen-Dazs brand, and the contract to supply the 236 Haagen-Dazs shops, to Dreyer’s. General Mills retains the rights to make and distribute Haagen-Dazs in the rest of the world, General Mills spokeswoman Marybeth Thorsgaard said.

Dreyer’s officials said the transaction gave them full control of the lucrative Haagen-Dazs brand in the U.S., including all manufacturing and marketing of the brand and all points of contact with consumers. “This is the last piece,” Dreyer’s spokeswoman Dori Sera Bailey said.

Bailey would not disclose the amount of the cash deal, nor would she comment on the company’s plans for the chain, which is smaller than the 270 shops of rival Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., a unit of Unilever.

Haagen-Dazs shops are independently owned but pay franchise fees and royalties. General Mills acquired rights to the Haagen-Dazs shops when it acquired Pillsbury from British conglomerate Diageo in 2001.

After Nestle bought 67% of Dreyer’s for $2.8 billion last year, most of the two companies’ ice cream businesses were combined.

As a result, Dreyer’s makes the Haagen-Dazs, Starbucks, Dreyer’s and Edy’s brands and has an estimated 20% of the U.S. ice cream market.

Shares of Dreyer’s on Wednesday fell 8 cents to $78.31 on Nasdaq.