Ralston Purina Buying Beechnut: Ralston Purina Co....

Ralston Purina Buying Beechnut: Ralston Purina Co. of St. Louis said it had agreed to buy Beechnut Nutrition Corp., the scandal-marred baby food subsidiary of Swiss food giant Nestle S.A. Terms were not disclosed. Newspaper reports two months ago disclosed that Nestle was seeking a buyer for Beechnut, which was found guilty in 1987 of selling sugar water as apple juice for infants and fined $2.2 million. Beechnut, with annual sales of $150 million, has about 15% of the U.S. baby food market. Ralston Purina, which specializes in food for pets and livestock and also sells snack foods and batteries, earned $363.4 million last year on sales of $5.88 billion. The transaction is subject to a definitive contract and corporate approvals.