Ralston shareholders approve Nestlé acquisition

The deal makes Nestlé the biggest player in the pet food market Keystone

Shareholders of the United States pet food group, Ralston Purina, have approved Nestlé's takeover bid at a general assembly in St. Louis. The deal makes Nestlé the world's biggest pet food company.

The acquisition, to be subjected to a regulatory review, required the approval of over two-thirds of Ralston’s shareholders.

Nestlé’s CEO, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, said he expected the transaction to be completed by the end of the year. He added that the acquisition would give the consumer “tremendous benefits in innovation, more consumer choice and stronger competition in this growing industry”.

The takeover enables Nestlé to add such household names as Ralston’s Dog and Cat Chow to its range of Friskies cat food and Mighty Dog brands.

Swiss-based Nestlé, the world’s largest food group, first announced its intention to buy Ralston Purina on January 16 in a $10 billion (SFr16.54 billion) deal.

In March, Nestlé’s planned acquisition came under the scrutiny of antitrust enforcers at the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC was seeking more information about the deal, and was seeking to extend the deadline by which the purchase had to be approved.

Fears were expressed that Nestlé could use its considerable leverage with supermarket chains to bid up the “slotting” fees that manufacturers pay for space on store shelves.

However, the FTC said there was not enough research to determine whether slotting fees were becoming a problem.

The new company, Nestlé Purina Pet Care Company, will be based in St. Louis, where Ralston currently has its headquarters.

The company will control nearly 70 per cent of the dry cat food market.

swissinfo with agencies