64 acquisitions in July

There was no apparent slowdown for food and drink transactions in July, with 64 recorded in the Zenith Global mergers and acquisitions database.

2 were above $500 million, including 1 more than $2,500 million:

• $2,650 million in food delivery for Uber to buy Postmates in the United States

• $663 million in packaging for Australia’s Visy to purchase the Australia New Zealand business of US-based Owens-Illinois.

Of the 64 total, 8 were in alcohol, 6 in dairy-free, 6 in meat, 6 in meat-free, 6 in snacks, 5 in soft drinks, 4 in nutrition and 3 each in dairy and ingredients.

This is the first time the overall number of 14 for plant-based has been so high as well as overtaking the 12 for dairy and meat.

6 more were in categories that have only emerged recently - 2 for CBD, 2 for food delivery and 2 for vertical farming.

42 were within national borders, 31 of them in the United States, 5 in the United Kingdom and 2 in France. 22 were international across 17 countries.

Among the 64, the United States featured in 38, the United Kingdom in 12 and Switzerland in 5, with 3 each for Australia, Canada, France, Ireland and the Netherlands.

21 of the deals were some form of funding round.