By Chelsey Dulaney

General Mills Inc. has agreed to sell its Green Giant and Le Sueur frozen and canned vegetable brands to B&G Foods Inc. for $765 million in cash.

B&G, which owns food brands like Molly McButter and Pirate's Booty, also expects $137 million in tax benefits from the deal.

After a transition period, the brands are expected to add $550 million to B&G's net sales and 60 cents a share to its earnings. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

The deal comes as General Mills, the maker of brands including Cheerios cereal and Hamburger Helper, struggles with changing consumer tastes and a strong dollar.

The Minneapolis-based company has been cutting jobs and closing plants as it struggles with Americans' growing aversion to packaged foods.

In its fiscal fourth quarter that ended in May, General Mills took a $260 million impairment charge related to the Green Giant brand. The company redirected resources away from supporting Green Giant, which caused it to review the business and determine it wasn't worth what it once was.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at chelsey.dulaney@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 03, 2015 08:56 ET (12:56 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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