now defunct ralston purina company see ralcorp . ralston purina company industry food pet food animal feeds fate merged with friskies pet care to form nestl purina petcare founded 1894 as purina mills defunct 2001 headquarters st. louis missouri key people william h. danforth founder products dog food cat food animal health products breakfast cereal crisp bread website www.purina.com ralston purina company was a st. louis missouri based american animal feed and pet food company . on december 12 2001 it merged with swiss food giant nestl s friskies division to form nestl purina petcare company . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 merger with nestl 2 acquisitions and diversifications 3 logo 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit ralston purina originally ralston purina traces its roots to 1894 when founder william h. danforth established the animal feed company purina mills . its predominant brand for each animal was generally referred to as chow ; hence purina horse chow purina dog chow purina cat chow purina rabbit chow purina pig chow and even purina monkey chow . later the company began producing cereal which received endorsement by webster edgerly founder of ralstonism to market ralston breakfast cereals . edgerly was at the time promoting the consumption of whole grain cereal . these cereals became so successful that the name of the enterprise was changed in 1902 to the ralston purina company . 2 in 1986 ralston purina sold purina mills its us animal feed business to british petroleum . purina mills is now owned by land o lakes . in 1994 the ralston human food operations of the ralston purina company were spun off into a new company called ralcorp holdings . in 1998 ralston purina spun off its international animal feed business as agribrands which was acquired by cargill in 2001 . 3 the animal feed businesses continue to use the purina and chow brands which purina mills and cargill license for use in the us and internationally respectively . merger with nestl edit ralston purina became the subject of an acquisition bid by swiss based nestl whose friskies brand was the other leading us brand of pet food . nestl s.a. and ralston purina announced in january 2001 a definitive merger agreement . 4 under the agreement nestl acquired all of ralston purina s nyse ral outstanding shares for us 33.50 per share in cash . the offer represented a premium of 36 % over the closing price on friday january 12 2001 . the transaction had an enterprise value of us 10.3 billion 10.0 billion equity plus 1.2 billion of net debt minus 0.9 billion of financial investments . both corporations saw this major strategic transaction as the ideal way to benefit from their combined know how complementary strengths and international presence in the growing pet care market . citation needed several brands of pet food e.g. meow mix had to be divested separately to meet antitrust concerns . purina brands are now made and marketed by a division of nestl nestl purina petcare which is still headquartered in st. louis . while primarily a pet food company ralston purina also made some other pet related products such as tidy cats brand and yesterday s news cat litter which is made from recycled newspaper purchased from edward lowe industries in 1990 . also purina has honoured several canadian animals every year since 1968 in their animal hall of fame . the latest inductees included a police service dog which rushed and subdued an armed robber . acquisitions and diversifications edit in 1977 ralston purina acquired missouri arena corporation and the st. louis blues national hockey league franchise . during the company s ownership of the team they changed the name of the st. louis arena to the checkerdome reflecting the ralston purina logo . the franchise was sold to harry ornest on july 27 1983 . ralston purina purchased the eveready battery company in 1986 owner of the eveready and energizer brands . the company was spun off in 2000 . ralston purina purchased continental baking company makers of wonder bread and hostess cakes from itt in 1984 . ralston spun off continental baking company subsequently bought by irving texas based interstate brands corporation ibc . ralston purina opened test market pizza stores called checkerboard pizza in 1986 . the format was similar to domino s and little caesars . they opened the stores in markets such as moorhead minnesota to test how the midwestern market would accept the concept . they did well but ralston purina decided not to enter the pizza franchise business and closed all pilots by late 1987 . ralston purina owned and further developed the keystone ski resort in colorado . the checkerboard slope for kids and beginners at keystone still bears their logo . ralston purina also owned jack in the box fast food restaurants from 1968 to 1985 5 along with several high end restaurants . ralston purina owned van camp sea food company from 1963 to 1988 a tuna cannery with chicken of the sea as its main product . ralston purina owned an animal pharmaceutical company in the 1970s and 1980s . logo edit ralston purina is famed for its checkerboard trademark . the inspiration for the ralston purina logo came from founder william danforth s childhood who dressed in checkerboard cloth . 6 the checkerboard trademark was introduced in 1904 . 7 ralston purina s headquarters was called checkerboard square . the checkerboard logo then evolved into a personal development concept danforth put forth in his book i dare you in which he proposed the four key components in life physical mental social and religious need to be in balance and one area was not to develop at the expense of the others . 8 the concept became intertwined with the company in 1921 when it began selling feed that was pressed in cubes called checkers . 9 see also edit companies portal ralcorp purina mills references edit http www.nestlepurina.com carman tim 2009 04 16 food history potpourri ralston purina s d.c. roots washington city paper retrieved 2009 10 19 history at cargill.com ackman dan 2001 01 16 . nestle seals ralston deal . forbes . forbes.com llc . retrieved 2009 10 19 . jack in the box inc. our company . a glimpse from the past to the present . soci t des produits nestl s.a. vevey switzerland . retrieved 2009 10 19 . http www.purinamills.com ourheritage default.aspx danforth william . i dare you . kessinger publishing llc . isbn 0 7661 2786 9 . william h. danforth founder . soci t des produits nestl s.a. vevey switzerland . retrieved 2009 10 19 . archived june 29 2010 at the wayback machine . external links edit official website purina mobile website purina mills llc u.s. animal feed brand cargill s purina division international animal feed brand agribrands purina canada inc. canada animal feed brand ralcorp purina mills poultry nutrition purina iphone app purina blackberry app v t e nestl brands appliances babynes dolce gusto nescaf alegria nescaf barista nespresso special.t baby nutrition babynes cerelac gerber graduates mucilon naturnes nestum nidal brand nido p tit baking libby s pumpkin toll house bottled water arrowhead buxton contrex deer park h par ice mountain ozarka panna perrier poland spring pure life qu zac san pellegrino vittel zephyrhills cereals cheerios1 chocapic chokella cini minis clusters cocoa crisp1 cookie crisp1 corn flakes country corn flakes curiously cinnamon fitness fitness fibra gold flakes golden grahams1 golden nuggets honey gold honey stars koko krunch la lechera flakes lion cereal lucky charms1 milo cereal nesquik cereal 7 nesquik duo cereal7 nesquik cioccomilk7 nestl crunch oats & more trix1 shreddies8 shredded wheat8 strawberry minis chocolate and desserts 100 grand bar animal bar abuelita aero aero biscuits after eight allen s baby ruth bar one bertie beetle big chocolate big turk bit o honey blue riband breakaway butterfinger cailler caramac carlos v chicos choclait chips choco crossies chocolate log chokito chunky club coffee crisp crisp crunch die weisse drifter golden rough goobers jelly tots kit kat3 kit kat chunky kit kat senses lanvin lentejas life savers lion bar mackintosh s toffee matchmakers menier chocolate milkybar milkybar choo milo chocolate bar mirage mint patty munchies munch nestegg nestl baker s choice nestl classic nestl dessert nestl fav rites nestl extra smooth nestl snack nuts nestl milk chocolate oh henry 4 orion peppermint crisp perugina plaistowe polo quality street raisinets rolo3 rowntree s rowntree s fruit gums rowntree s fruit pastilles sin parar smarties5 sno caps spree sundy brand susy svitoch tex toffee crisp violet crumble walnut whip white knight the willy wonka candy company xxx yes yorkie coffee and beverages abuelita babynes carnation caro chuckie beverage coffee mate dolce gusto klim la lechera lion menier milo nescaf nescau nesfruta nespresso nesquik mix nesquik ready to drink nestea nestl chocolate nestl dessert ovaltine6 ricor sjora sublime sweet leaf tonimalt zo gas health and nutrition nutramen junior nutrament pamlab peptamen boost resource ice cream camy d onofrio dibs ice cream dreyer s edy s drumstick eskimo pie extr me fab frosty paws h agen dazs2 hjem is ice screamers kit kat la cremeria la laiti re lanvin chocolate maxibon m venpick nestl parlour pops savory ice cream sch ller smarties prepared and packaged food and snacks buitoni california pizza kitchen digiorno garden gourmet herta hot pockets jack s lean cuisine libby s lean pockets maggi maggi noodles mousline nestl starz roll ups stouffer s thomy tombstone uncle tobys wagner yinlu foods dairy products a actiplus after eight bear brand carnation cerevita coffee mate dancow everyday kit kat la lechera la lait re milkmaid nesquik nesquik minis rolo ski nesquik nesquik powder nesquik cereal7 nesquik duo cereal7 nesquik cioccomilk7 nesquik beverage bear brand bear brand busog lusog milo milo granules milo chocolate bar milo cereal uncle toby s cheerios1 fruit bites healthwise natural style muesli o & g oat crisp oat flakes plus puffs roll ups vitabrits weeties petcare alpo bakers complete beggin strips beneful bonio cat chow chef michael s dog chow fancy feast felix friskies frosty paws go cat gourmet one pro plan tender vittles veterinary diets winalot galderma cetaphil daylong epiduo excipial restylane former alcon chocolate surpresa enviga jenny craig polly waffle powerbar powwow water wonder ball divisions gerber life insurance company nestl purina petcare nestl waters nestl waters north america joint ventures beverage partners worldwide cereal partners worldwide lactalis nestl chilled dairy nestl toll house caf other assets hsu fu chi 60 % l or al 30.3 % osem 51 % yinlu foods 60 % people g nter blobel paul bulcke peter brabeck letmathe nobuyuki idei henri nestl kaspar villiger other nestea european championship tour nestl boycott nestl invitational nestl rowntree f.c. nestl smarties book prize nestl tower toll house cookies international code of marketing of breast milk substitutes nescaf basement 1 currently manufactured by general mills in the united states and canada . produced by cereal partners under the nestl brand elsewhere . 2 brand owned by general mills ; us and canadian production rights controlled by nestl under license . 3 us production rights owned by the hershey company . 4 canadian production rights owned by the hershey company . 5 us rights and production owned by smarties candy company with a different product . 6 us rights and specific trade dress owned by nestl ; rights elsewhere owned by associated british foods . 7 produced by cereal partners branded as nestl . 8 produced by cereal partners and branded nestl in the united kingdom and ireland . produced by post foods elsewhere . category commons authority control musicbrainz 1aa349e3 3322 4bce 98d3 9a961def7aa2 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title ralston purina & oldid 743638379 categories nestl brandsanimal food manufacturerspet food 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