General Mills (NYSE:GIS) announced today a definitive agreement with PAI partners and Sodiaal to acquire a 51% controlling interest in Yoplait S.A.S. and a 50% stake in a related entity that holds the worldwide Yoplait brands for $1.15 billion.Sodiaal, the largest French dairy cooperative, will hold the remaining ownership stakes in both entities. Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, Yoplait is the second largest brand in the global yogurt market, a category that had retail sales totaling approximately US $65 billion in 2010.General Mills currently expects the transaction to close during the first quarter of its 2012 fiscal year, which begins on May 30, 2011.