19 Acquisitions Over $1 Billion in 2020
Of the record 831 food and drink transactions registered on the Zenith Global mergers and acquisitions database for 2020, 19 involved sums of $1,000 million or more. This is down from the 24 noted in 2019 and the lowest number in recent years.
The $60 billion combined value of the top 10 was below any of the previous 5 years – 17% less than the $72 billion for the top 10 of 2019 and just 16% of the $365 billion for the top 10 of 2015.
The 19 over $1 billion totalled $79 billion, compared with $90 billion for the 24 over $1 billion in 2019, $141 billion for the 28 over $1 billion in 2018 and $403 billion for the 27 over $1 billion in 2015.
GLOBAL FOOD AND DRINK ACQUISITIONS OVER $1 BILLION 2015-20
Source: Zenith Global
TOP 10 GLOBAL FOOD AND DRINK TRANSACTIONS 2020
Source: Zenith Global
Biggest buyers and sellers in 2020
Nestlé, Constellation Brands, Diageo, Keurig Dr Pepper, New Age Beverages and Pernod Ricard were the most acquisitive companies of 2020, according to the Zenith Global food and drink transactions database, with each responsible for 5 or more takeovers. Cott, Waterlogic, Berlin Packaging and Kerry all made 4 purchases
Dean Foods was the only company to agree 5 or more sales, followed by Fonterra and Nestlé on 4, then Constellation Brands and Hain Celestial among others on 3.
A total of 1,365 companies were involved across 53 countries, with the United States and United Kingdom most prominent overall.
