General Mills (NYSE: GIS) said on Friday (3 NOvember) that the Securities and Exchange Commission has completed its review of the shareholder proxy statement concerning General Mills’ proposed acquisition of The Pillsbury Company from Diageo. Proxy statements will be mailed on or about November 8, 2000, to General Mills shareholders of record as of October 16, 2000. The special meeting of General Mills shareholders to vote on this issue has been scheduled for Friday, December 8, 2000, at the Grand Hotel in Minneapolis, beginning at 8:00 a.m. Central Standard Time. This meeting will be webcast live and can be accessed through the company’s web site at http://www.generalmills.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on management’s current expectations and assumptions. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ. In particular, our expectations on the date of the special meeting could be affected by unforeseen events. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

General Mills filed a definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on November 3, 2000, in connection with two proposals relating to General Mills’ proposed acquisition of Pillsbury, to be submitted to General Mills stockholders for approval. STOCKHOLDERS OF GENERAL MILLS ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT BECAUSE IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and stockholders may obtain a free copy of the definitive proxy statement and other documents filed by General Mills in connection with the merger at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Stockholders of General Mills also may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement and other documents filed by General Mills with the SEC by contacting the Investor Relations Department at 763-764-2011. General Mills and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies to approve the proposals relating to the proposed transaction. The proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC contains information on General Mills directors’ and executive officers’ ownership of General Mills common stock.