76 acquisitions in September

As many as 76 food and drink industry transactions were registered on the Zenith Global mergers and acquisitions database during September, not far short of the August 2018 record of 80.

6 involved sums of more than $500 million, of which 3 reached more than $1 billion:

• $3,200 million in dairy for France’s Lactalis to buy the natural cheese division of US-based Kraft Heinz
• €1,600 million in packaging for Germany’s Covestro to purchase the resins and functional materials business of Netherlands-based DSM
• $1,075 million in water drinks for the initial public offering of China’s Nongfu Spring
• €800 million in ingredients for Sweden’s EQT private equity firm to gain the natural colours division of Denmark-based Chr Hansen
• $745 million sales in alcohol from the merger of Finland’s Altia with Norway’s Arcus to become Anora Group
• €572 million sales in frozen vegetables for France’s Terres du Sud through its minority stake in Antarctic Foods.

Among the 76 total, 10 were in soft drinks, 8 in alcohol, 8 in ingredients, 6 in snacks, 5 in nutrition, 4 in equipment, 4 in meat-free, 3 in alcohol-free and 3 in plant-based.

31 were inside individual countries, 21 of these in the United States, 3 in the United Kingdom and 2 in Canada. 45 were international. 29 countries were affected overall.

Out of 76, the United States participated in 39, followed by the United Kingdom on 11, Germany on 8, France on 7 and Australia on 6.