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

Written by CircleUp | December.11.2014

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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