General Mills: SEC Ending Investigation

MINNEAPOLIS - General Mills Inc. said on Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission staff is ending its investigation of the nation's second-largest cereal maker's sales practices and related accounting without taking enforcement action.
The news is a reversal for the SEC, which had notified General Mills in February 2004 of a preliminary decision to recommend civil action against the company, chief executive Steve Sanger and chief financial officer James Lawrence. The company had maintained that it did nothing wrong.
The company, whose brands include Cheerios and Wheaties, Yoplait and Pillsbury, never released details of the investigation. A former manager had claimed that General Mills often ended quarters by shipping more products than usual so it could book the sales, sometimes paying retailers to take the larger shipments.
General Mills shares rose 8 cents to $50.65 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.