Milling & Baking News - January 2, 2007 - 12

B U S I N E S S

General Mills teams with Disney
on new ready-to-eat cereal launch
MINNEAPOLIS - General Mills, Inc.
and The Walt Disney Co. have teamed
up to launch a new line of breakfast cereals that meet Disney's new nutrition
guidelines.
The ready-to-eat cereals will feature
three Disney properties: Disney's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Disney
Princess and Disney's
Little Einsteins. The
cereals are made with
whole grain and are considered a good source of
vitamin D and calcium,
General Mills said.
"We are excited about
this launch," said Kymm
Pollack, marketing director of General Mills Big G
cereal division. "This new
cereal line leverages strong
Disney equities that need no
introduction while delivering
everyday value at very attractive, competitive price points.
They are high-quality cereals
with a strong nutrition profile
that parents will appreciate
and popular Disney characters that kids will love."
Lance Gatewood, vicepresident of food, health
and beauty for Disney Consumer Products, North
America, said the new
line of branded cereals
reinforces the company's
direction of "broadening
our business offerings at
price points that all fami-

lies can enjoy. Importantly, General Mills
has ensured that the new cereals meet
Disney's food guidelines."
Disney introduced its new food guidelines for licensed foods and promotions
aimed at children in October. Under the
new policy, Disney only allows use of
its name and characters
on child-focused products
that meet specific guidelines, including limits on
calories, fat, saturated fat
and sugar. Disney also

announced changes
in the meals served to
children at all Disneyoperated restaurants in
its parks and resorts.
Specifically,
the
guidelines call for limits such as:
* A cap on calories
that results in appropri-

AIPC plans to appeal New York
Stock Exchange's delisting decision
KANSAS CITY - American Italian Pasta
Co. said it will appeal a decision made by
the New York Stock Exchange to move forward with the initiation of suspension and
delisting procedures.
The N.Y.S.E. had given AIPC until Dec.
31 to complete and file its annual report on
Form 10-K for the year ended Sept. 30, 2005,
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company on Dec. 14 filed a Form
12b-25 with the S.E.C. stating the company's
annual report will not be filed by Dec. 31
and believes it will be completed and filed
by the end of March 2007.
The N.Y.S.E. notified AIPC it planned to
suspend trading in the company's shares
before the opening of trading on Dec. 20
12 / Milling & Baking News, January 2, 2007

and then move forward with the initiation
of suspension and delisting procedures.
The company was advised its shares were
eligible for quotation on the Pink Sheets, an
electronic quotation service for securities
traded over-the-counter. AIPC thus expected no interruption of trading in its shares,
which closed at $11.25 per share on Dec. 14
and were trading at $9.98 per share on the
morning of Dec. 15.
AIPC added the N.Y.S.E. procedures will
have no effect on its $295 million, five-year
credit facility.
"AIPC has been working diligently with
our independent auditors to thoroughly
review all of the company's financial statements for certain periods," said Jim Fogarty,

ate child-sized portions;
* Total fat will not exceed 30% of
calories for main and side dishes and
35% for snacks;
* Saturated fat will not exceed 10%
of calories for main dishes, side dishes
and snacks; and
*Added sugar will not exceed 10% of
calories for main dishes and side dishes
and 25% of calories for snacks.
Disney expects most of its licensed
products and promotional tie-ins to meet
the new guidelines by the end of 2008.
The partnership with General Mills
is not the first time Disney has teamed
with a leading cereal maker. Two years
ago, Disney co-branded cereals with The
Kellogg Co., but with little success. The
partnership's failure was linked to the
high premium associated with the cereals. If the General Mills venture fails, it
won't be because of price. The new cereals will sell at a suggested retail price
of $1.99 for boxes that range in size
from 9.9 oz to 11.6 oz.
The new General Mills' cereals also
will fight for shelf space with Disney
Magic Selections, a brand launched by
Disney in partnership with supermarket retailer The Kroger Co. The alliance,
announced this past July before the new
Disney food guidelines were unveiled,
marked the first time Disney licensed
with a food retailer for its own store
brand of products. The Disney Magic
Selections brand of cereals are available in three varieties: Incredible Berry
Crunch!, Honey Nut Nemo O's, and
Princess Gems. Unlike the General Mills
cereals, though, the Kroger products do
not currently meet the new Disney food
guidelines, but a Disney spokesperson
affirmed that plans are in place to meet
these guidelines in 2007. MBN

chief executive officer for AIPC. "We have
made substantial progress toward concluding this intensive review process and are
doing everything possible to ensure both
a prompt completion and the accuracy and
credibility of the historical balance sheet we
will move forward with.
"As to changes in our stock trading venue, we will continue to pursue appropriate
alternatives for the trading of our common
shares, but more importantly we are focused
on returning to timely filing status and continuing to improve our business."
The company had total debt outstanding
of $254.3 million on Dec. 13. Total debt, net
of cash, was $229.7 million. The company
on Dec. 13 had total liquidity resources of
$52.3 million, which consisted of cash on
hand of $24.6 million and $27.7 million in
availability under the company's $30 million revolving credit facility. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com
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Milling & Baking News - January 2, 2007

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