85 acquisitions in November

November was another big month for food and drink industry transactions, with 85 recorded on the Zenith Global mergers and acquisitions database.

6 involved sums in excess of $500 million, including 2 amounting to $5,000 million or more:

• $11,300 million in foodservice for Inspire Brands to buy Dunkin’ Brands in the United States

• $5,000 million in snacks for Mars to take over Kind North America

• €820 million in ingredients for Croda in the United Kingdom to purchase Iberchem in Spain from Eurazeo private equity in France

• $800 million in sauces for US based McCormick to gain Cholula in Mexico from US based L Catterton private equity

• $767 million in seafood for Premium Brands and Mi’kmaq First Nations to win Clearwater Seafoods in Canada

• $767 million sales in plant-based from Nestlé of Switzerland to yield Yinlu in China to Food Wise in China.

The 85 covered a wide range of sectors, led by ingredients on 11, snacks on 7, soft drinks on 6, alcohol on 5, dairy on 4, packaging on 4, seafood on 4, with 3 each for agribusiness, bakery, confectionery, equipment, food delivery, nutrition and plant-based.

27 countries were involved, led by the United States on 44, the United Kingdom on 17, Canada on 8, France on 7, Germany on 5, Italy on 5 and Switzerland on 4.

38 were domestic, including 26 in the United States. 47 were international.