General Mills is reportedly considering separating its Häagen-Dazs ice-cream business outside North America, a move that could lead to a sale.
The US food giant owns and operates the Häagen-Dazs brand outside North America.
General Mills also has a Häagen-Dazs joint venture in Japan in which it owns a 50% stake.
The Wall Street Journal reported the deliberations yesterday (5 November). Just Food approached General Mills for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Ice-cream maker Froneri has been touted as a possible interested party if the assets do come to market.
Froneri, was established in 2016 as a 50-50 joint venture between private-equity firm PAI Partners and Nestlé.
The Swiss giant transferred its US ice-cream operations to Froneri in 2019, including its US Häagen-Dazs business. The Häagen-Dazs trademark is licensed royalty-free in the US and Canada.
In June, General Mills agreed to sell its Häagen-Dazs shop operations in mainland China to a consortium including QSR tea-shop operator Ningji.
General Mills retained ownership of the brand’s retail and foodservice business in the country.
COO Dana McNabb will take over as General Mills chief executive on 1 January, succeeding Jeff Harmening, who will become executive chair after nine years at the helm.
General Mills has made other disposals this year. In March, the company agreed to offload its Brazilian business – including the Yoki and Kitano brands – to Grupo 3corações for R800m ($48m).
In January, it sold US tomato-products brand Muir Glen to local business Violet Foods.
In the first-quarter of fiscal 2027 that ended 30 August, General Mills recorded a 3% decline in net sales to $4.39bn.
Operating profit slumped 63% to $633.6m from $1.73bn a year earlier, an outcome shaped by the absence of a $1.05bn divestiture gain booked in the comparative quarter of 2025.
Reflecting the reduced operating result, net earnings attributable to General Mills dropped 67% to $397m.
In the year to the end of May, General Mills' net sales fell 5% to $18.4bn. Organic sales decreased 2%.
Operating profit of $886m was down 73%, driven primarily by goodwill and brand
intangible asset charges and the valuation loss. Adjusted operating profit slid 16% $2.8bn in constant-currency terms.
