2014 Q3 Food and Beverage M&A Activity — North America | CircleUp

Written by CircleUp | December.11.2014

By Lincoln International on 2014-12-11

Each week we share learnings and insights from experts in the consumer product and retail space. This week’s insights come from Lincoln International , a leading investment bank servicing the consumer industry. Lincoln specializes in merger and acquisition advisory services, debt advisory services, private capital raising and restructuring advice on mid-market transactions.

Summary Observations: Activity in Food & Beverage Sector

Growth-challenged companies are interested in high growth, natural food brands, as exemplified by General Mills’ acquisition of Annie’s at 3.9 times sales
The Annie’s acquisition increases the focus on other high growth, health and wellness companies, such as WhiteWave Foods and Boulder Brands
During Q3 2014, there were 64 announced M&A transactions involving the acquisition of North American food and beverage targets, down 6% from Q3 2013
83% went to strategic acquirers; 17% went to financial and other acquirers. Notable deals announced in Q3 2014 include:
- Pabst Brewing Company’s sale to Oasis Beverages and TSG Consumer Partners in a deal estimated at $700 to $750 million
- WhiteWave’s acquisition of Turtle Mountain (d/b/a So Delicious Dairy Free) from Wasserstein & Co. for $195 million
- Ajinomoto’s acquisition of Windsor Quality Foods for $800 million
- General Mills’ acquisition of Annie’s for $821 million

Selected North American M&A Transactions

Announced Date	Target	Acquirer	Enterprise Value ($mm)	EV / Sales	EV / EBITDA
9/29/14	SweetWater Brewing Company, LLC	TSG Consumer Partners	–	–	–
9/26/14	Daily’s Foods, Inc.	Triumph Foods, LLC	$145	–	–
9/23/14	Procter & Gamble, European Pet Food Business	Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc.	–	–	–
9/18/14	Pabst Brewing Company, Inc.	TSG Consumer Partners; Oasis Beverages Cyprus Limited	–	–	–
9/17/14	Turtle Mountain, LLC	The WhiteWave Foods Company	195	1.7x	–
9/10/14	Windsor Quality Food Company, Ltd	Ajinomoto North America, Inc.	800	1.2x	–
9/8/14	Annie’s, Inc.	General Mills, Inc.	821	3.9x	38.6x
9/8/14	JTM Foods, Inc.	Kainos Capital, LLC	–	–	–
9/5/14	Great Lakes Specialty Meats of Canada Inc.	Sofina Foods Inc.	–	–	–
9/2/14	Archer Daniels Midland Company, Chocolate Business	Cargill, Incorporated	440	–	–
8/20/14	McCain Foods Limited, N. American Frozen Pizza Business	Dr. Oetker GmbH	–	–	–
8/18/14	Tate’s Bake Shop, Inc.	The Riverside Company	–	–	–
8/12/14	Leo’s Foods, Inc.	Wise Foods, Inc.	–	–	–
8/11/14	Chiquita Brands International Inc.	Sucocitrico Cutrale Ltda; Banco Safra S.	1,240	0.4x	14.1x
8/11/14	Continental Seasoning, Inc.	Newly Weds Foods, Inc.	–	–	–
8/7/14	American Blanching Co., Inc.	Nuts Distributor of America Inc.	128	–	–
8/6/14	Sahale Snacks, Inc.	The J. M. Smucker Company	–	–	–
8/1/14	Mighty Leaf Tea Company	Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc.; Next World Group	–	–	–
7/22/14	Davisco; Dairy Processing Assets	Agropur Cooperative	–	–	–
7/17/14	Hain Pure Protein Corporation	The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.	44	–	–
7/14/14	Russell Stover Candies, Inc.	Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Spruengli AG	–	–	–
7/10/14	Avion Spirits	Pernod Ricard USA, LLC	–	–	–
7/7/14	Truco Enterprises, LP	Insignia Capital Group, LLC	–	–	–
7/4/14	Apple & Eve, LLC	Lassonde Industries Inc.	148	–	9.7x

Sources: Capital IQ as of 9/30/2014, Mergermarket

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