Mars to Acquire Iams, Eukanuba and Natura Brands- The Pack Mom
Well, here we go again. Another company selling it’s pet food brands. This time, Mars Petcare is set to acquire Procter and Gamble’s pet food lines Iams, Eukanuba and their all natural food- Natura. According to RTT News, the sale should occur in the second have of 2014 and include P&G’s North America and Latin America markets as well as selected countries. In the European markets, P&G plans to sell their pet care brands to other sources.
How does this make you feel as a pet parent? In this transaction, it is one large company acquiring the pet division of another corporate giant, rather than a mom and pop company selling to one of the big guys. Make you feel better, worse or indifferent?
The pet business is a huge business. Last year’s estimates put pet spending at over 55 billion dollars with pet food dollars coming close to 22 billion. Approximately 68% of U.S. households, or 82.5 million homes, have a pet and pet ownership rates are supposed to increase 2.2% each year for the next number of years. No surprise that we are seeing increased mergers, acquisitions and buy outs. More to come? Most definitely. The question is- who will be next?
Category: Pet Nutrition, PET WELLNESS