I hope Arthur, however many there are/were, got a good share of the profit. S/He certainly did a good job: (emphasis is mine)

Nestle buying Ralston Purina
By The Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Ralston Purina Co. has reportedly accepted a $10.1 billion takeover offer from Nestle SA, the Swiss food giant whose products include the Friskies and Alpo pet food brands.

The deal is expected to be announced today, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site yesterday, citing people familiar with the situation.

Nestle will pay $33.50 for each share of Ralston, a 36 percent premium to the St. Louis-based company's closing stock price Friday of $24.63 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Nestle and Ralston Purina refused to comment on reports that a deal was in the works.

Jaine Mehring, senior food analyst at Salomon Smith Barney in New York, said the possibility of such an offer does not come as a surprise given Nestle's desire to expand its pet food offerings in the United States. Similarly, the Ralston brand could prosper overseas through Nestle's international distribution system, she added.

Based on measured sales, Ralston controls 27 percent of the $4.3 billion dog-food market, while Nestle accounts for roughly 12 percent, the Journal reported. Ralston is also a leader in cat food sales, holding 33 percent of the $2.6 billion market, with Nestle making an additional 13 percent.

Mehring said when industry estimates for unmeasured sales are taken into account, Nestle and Ralston Purina each command roughly 15 percent of U.S. market share.

An agreement would likely receive antitrust scrutiny and the companies could be required to trim their pet food businesses in order to gain regulatory approval.

Rival companies with significant pet-food units, such as Procter & Gamble Co., Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Mars Inc., could try to outbid Nestle.

"There's aways a chance of some other bidder," Mehring said. "I think it's a pretty fair price."

Nestle, the world's largest food company, produces everything from mineral water to dairy products to coffee. The company is based in Vevey, Switzerland.

Nestle has enlarged its pet food business in the past through acquisitions. In 1985, the company purchased Carnation, which owned Friskies, and in 1994 it added the Alpo brand to its holdings. The company picked up one-fifth of Europe's pet-food market in 1998, when it paid more than $1 billion for Britain's Spillers Pet Food, a subsidiary of Dalgety. Nationwide, dog-food sales grew by about 4 percent last year, while cat food volume grew by roughly 5 percent.