82 acquisitions in May

82 food and drink transactions were recorded on the Zenith Global mergers and acquisitions database in May.

10 involved sums of more than $500 million, including 7 over $1,000 million:

• $10,000 million valuation for the US IPO of plant-based Oatly from Sweden, raising $1,430 million
• $2,000 million in plant-based ingredients for Star Peak’s SPAC deal with Benson Hill in the United States
• $2,000 million in bakery for US-based Mondelez International to buy Chipita in Greece
• $1,930 million in dairy for France’s Danone to divest 9.8% of Mengniu in China
• $1,450 million in packaging for US-based Graphic Packaging to purchase AR Packaging in Sweden from CVC private equity in the United Kingdom
• $1,340 million sales in food for US-based Bain private equity to win Valeo in Ireland from CapVest private equity in the United Kingdom
• $1,310 million in online food delivery for Tata to purchase a majority of Big Basket in India.

Of the 82, 10 were in ingredients, 8 in soft drinks, 7 in alcohol, 6 in bakery, 5 in hot drinks, 5 in packaging, 4 in CBD and 4 in dairy. Alcohol-free, dairy-free, meat-free, cell-based and plant-based added up to a further 8.

45 were within individual countries, including 36 in the United States and 3 in the United Kingdom. 37 were international, spanning 23 countries.

Among the 82 total, the United States featured in 55, the United Kingdom in 13, Belgium in 4, Canada in 4 and Netherlands in 4, with China, France, Germany and Sweden on 3 each.