Mergers & Acquisitions
Consolidation in the food industry has been facilitated by a large number of mergers and acquisitions in a variety of sectors, ranging from pet food to fertilizer to confections. As the number of remaining independent small producers and processors dwindles, increasingly the largest corporations are taking aim at one another. Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto, Heinz’s takeover of Kraft, Tyson’s acquisition of Hillshire, and Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods are just a few examples of how the most dominant companies in each sector are continuing on a path of intense consolidation.
Below is a database of many high-profile, high-impact mergers from the past several years. The database is searchable and can be ordered by Acquirer, Purchased, Date, Sector, and Deal Value. While this list is by no means comprehensive (there were over 300 food and beverage acquisitions in 2019 alone) it reveals a few key traits of consolidation in the food sector. First, that not all impactful mergers are necessarily expensive. Anheuser-Busch InBev’s 2011 acquisition of Goose Island Brewing Co. for $39 million was important for its indication of ABI’s future endeavors in the craft sector, despite carrying a relatively low price tag. JBS’s $14 million takeover of a lamb plant that processed one-fifth of U.S. lamb didn’t even meet antitrust investigation thresholds. Second, the database also demonstrates that within just a few years, some companies, like JBS, Grupo Bimbo, or B&G Foods, have made several key acquisitions, signaling their growing dominance.
This database will be continually updated. Our thanks to Food & Water Watch for their contribution of much of this important data.
| Acquirer | Purchased | Date (month/year) | Sector | Deal Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayer | Monsanto | June 2018 | Seeds & Agrichemicals | $63 billion |
| ChemChina | Syngenta | May 2017 | Seeds & Agrichemicals | $43 billion |
| Southern Wine & Spirits | Glazer's (merger) | July 2016 | Distribution | $17 billion |
| Amazon | Whole Foods | August 2017 | Grocery | $13 billion |
| Sysco | Brakes | July 2016 | Distribution | $3.1 billion |
| J.M. Smucker | Big Heart Brands | February 2015 | Pet Food | $5.8 billion |
| Ferrero International | Kellogg's cookies and fruit snacks division | July 2019 | Packaged Goods | $1.3 billion |
| PepsiCo | Better For You Brands | December 2019 | Packaged Goods | Undisclosed |
| Hershey's | ONE brands | September 2019 | Packaged Goods | $400 million |
| Coca Cola | Lurisia | September 2019 | Beverages | $97 million |
| PepsiCo | CytoSport Business (Muscle Milk) | March 2019 | Beverages | $465 million |
| Bain Capital | CJ Foods America | May 2019 | Manufacturing | $320 million |
| Butterfly Equity | Bolthouse Farms | June 2019 | Beverages | $510 million |
| Taylor Fresh Foods | Earthbound Farm | July 2019 | Produce | $500 million |
| Atkins Nutritionals | Quest Nutrition | November 2019 | Packaged Goods | $1 billion |
| Coca Cola | fairlife | January 2020 | Dairy | $979 million |
| Dairy Farmers of America | Dean Foods | May 2020 | Dairy | $433 million |
| JBS | Empire Packing select facilities and Ledbetter brands | April 2020 | Meat | $238 million |
| Hormel | Sadler's Smokehouse | March 2020 | Meat | $270 million |
| PepsiCo | Rockstar | April 2020 | Beverages | $4 billion |
| KKR & Co. | Borden Dairy | June 2020 | Dairy | $340 million |
| JBS | Mountain States Rosen | July 2020 | Lamb Processing | $14 million |
| KKR & Co. | Campbell's Arnott's Biscuits division | December 2019 | Packaged Goods | $2.2 billion |
| FreshPoint | Armstrong Produce | November 2019 | Produce | $155 million |
| Ferrero International | Nestle's non-chocolate candy division | January 2018 | Confectionary | $2.8 billion |
| Chef's Warehouse | Cambridge Packing Company | February 2020 | Meat | $20 million |
| Cal-Maine Foods | Manhard Egg Farm | October 2019 | Eggs | $46 million |
| Blue Point Capital | Country Pure Foods | December 2019 | Beverages | $256 million |
| E&J Gallo Winery, Inc. | Constellation Brands wine and spirits portfolio | December 2019 | Alchohol | $1.1 billion |
| Marfrig Global Foods | National Beef Packing Company - 82% ownership | November 2019 | Beef Processing | $970 million |
| Anheuser-Busch InBev | Craft Brew Alliance | November 2019 | Alchohol | $288 million |
| Performance Food Group | Reinhart FoodService | July 2019 | Distribution | $2 billion |
| General Mills | Blue Buffalo | February 2018 | Pet Food | $8 billion |
| Peak Rock Capital | Turkey Hill | April 2019 | Dairy | $215 million |
| International Flavors and Fragrances | DuPont nutrition division (merger) | December 2019 | Nutrition and Bioscience | $26.2 billion |
| Bimbo Bakeries | Pinnacle Foods Lender's Bagels brand | January 2020 | Bakery | Undisclosed |
| Just Eat Takeaway | Grubhub | June 2020 | Delivery | $7.3 billion |
| Uber | Postmates | July 2020 | Delivery | $2.65 billion |
| Legend Holdings | Kailis Brothers - 90% ownership | March 2016 | Seafood | $180 million |
| McCormick | Gourmet Garden | April 2016 | Spices | $150 million |
| McCormick | French's Mustard and Frank's Hot Sauce (via Reckitt Benckiser Food Unit) | July 2017 | Spices | $4.2 billion |
| JAB | Keurig Green Mountain | December 2015 | Beverages | $14 billion |
| Chef's Warehouse | Harris Seafood | October 2020 | Distribution | Undisclosed |
| Ferrero International | 2 Sisters Fox's Biscuits division | October 2020 | Packaged Goods | $318 million |
| Chef's Warehouse | Bassian Farms | February 2019 | Meat | Undisclosed |
| Constellation Brands | Copper & Kings American Brandy | September 2020 | Alchohol | Undisclosed |
| Constellation Brands | Canopy Growth - 38% ownership | July 2018 | Cannabis | $4 billion |
| Conagra | Pinnacle Foods | July 2018 | Frozen | $10.9 billion |
| Campbell's | Pacific Foods | December 2017 | Packaged Goods | $700 million |
| Lactalis | Stonyfield | July 2017 | Dairy | $875 million |
| Kellogg | RXBAR | October 2017 | Packaged Goods | $600 million |
| Hormel | Columbus | October 2017 | Meat | $850 million |
| Nestle | Sweet Earth | September 2017 | Plant Protein | Undisclosed |
| Unilever | Sir Kensington's | April 2017 | Condiments | Undisclosed |
| Tyson | AdvancePierre Foods | June 2017 | Packaged Sandwiches | $4.2 billion |
| Reckitt Benckiser | Mead Johnson | February 2017 | Baby Formula | $17.9 billion |
| Kroger | Home Chef | May 2018 | Meal Kit/Grocery | $200 million |
| Saputo | Murray Goulburn Co-op | April 2018 | Dairy | $1.3 billion |
| Saputo | Morningstar Foods | January 2013 | Dairy and Packaged Foods | $1.45 billion |
| Saputo | Lion Dairy | October 2019 | Dairy | $191 million |
| Saputo | F&A Dairy | October 2018 | Dairy | $85 million |
| Lactalis | Siggi's | January 2018 | Dairy | $300 million |
| Lactalis | Kraft Natural Cheese Division | September 2020 | Dairy | Pending |
| Lactalis | Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy | July 2019 | Dairy | Undisclosed |
| Campbell's | Snyders-Lance | December 2017 | Packaged Goods | $5 billion |
| Hershey's | Amplify Snack Brands (SkinnyPop and Pirate Brands) | December 2017 | Packaged Goods | $1.6 billion |
| Coca Cola | Costa Coffee | August 2018 | Coffee | $5.1 billion |
| PepsiCo | SodaStream | August 2018 | Beverages | $3.2 billion |
| General Mills | EPIC Provisions | January 2016 | Packaged Goods | Undisclosed |
| Nestle | Rights to Starbucks branded products | May 2018 | Coffee | $7.15 billion |
| Hershey's | barkTHINS | April 2016 | Packaged Goods | Undisclosed |
| HelloFresh | Green Chef | March 2018 | Meal Kit | Undisclosed |
| Tyson | Keystone Foods | August 2018 | Poultry Processing | $2.4 billion |
| Walmart | Flipkart | August 2018 | E-Commerce | $16 billion |
| Mondelez International | Tate's Bake Shop | May 2018 | Packaged Goods | $500 million |
| JAB | Pret a Manger | May 2018 | Restaurants | Undisclosed |
| JAB | Dr Pepper Snapple Group | January 2018 | Beverages | $19 billion |
| Post | Bob Evan's | September 2017 | Frozen | $1.5 billion |
| National Beef | Iowa Premium | June 2019 | Beef Processing | $150 million |
| Archer Daniels Midland | Neovia | February 2019 | Animal Feed | $1.8 billion |
| Cargill | EWOS | August 2015 | Fish Feed | $1.5 billion |
| Pinnacle Foods | Boulder Brands | November 2015 | Packaged Goods | $682 million |
| Treehouse Foods | ConAgra Foods | February 2016 | Packaged Goods | $2.7 billion |
| Heinz | Kraft | March 2015 | Packaged Goods | $28 billion |
| JAB Holding Co. | Keuring Green Mountain | December 2015 | Coffee | $13.9 billion |
| Albertsons | Safeway | January 2015 | Grocery Retail | $9.4 billion |
| Peets (JAB) | Stumptown | October 2015 | Coffee | Undisclosed |
| Hormel | Applegate | May 2015 | Meat | $775 million |
| Peets (JAB) | Intelligentsia | October 2015 | Coffee | Undisclosed |
| Burger King | Tim Hortons | October 2014 | Fast Food | $12.5 million |
| JBS | Cargill Pork | July 2015 | Pork Processing | $1.45 billion |
| General Mills | Annies | September 2014 | Organics/Processed Foods | $820 million |
| Tyson Foods | Hillshire Brands | August 2014 | Pork Processing | $7.7 billion |
| Unilever | Talenti | December 2014 | Ice Cream | Undisclosed |
| JBS | Moy Park | June 2015 | Poultry | $1.5 billion |
| Ahold | Delhaize | June 2015 | Grocery Retail | $28 billion |
| Kroger | Harris Teeter | January 2014 | Grocery Retail | $2.4 billion |
| Anheuser-Busch Inbev | Elysian Brewing Company | January 2015 | Beer | Undisclosed |
| Anheuser-Busch Inbev | Goose Island Brewing | March 2011 | Beer | $39 million |
| Post Holdings | MOM Brands | January 2015 | Cereal | $1.15 billion |
| Post Holdings | Michael Foods | April 2014 | Egg and Dairy | $2.45 billion |
| Manhattan Beer Distributors | Phoenix Beehive Beverages | December 2014 | Beer Distribution | Undisclosed |
| WhiteWave | So Delicious | October 2014 | Ice Cream | $195 million |
| UNFI | Tonys Fine Foods | May 2014 | Food Distribution | $195 million |
| Hormel | Muscle Milk | June 2014 | Sports Beverage | $450 million |
| Hain Celestial | Rudis Organics | April 2014 | Gluten-Free | $61 million |
| Kroger | Vitacost | July 2014 | Online Retailer | $280 million |
| Lindt & Sprugli | Russell Stover | July 2014 | Confections | $1.5 billion |
| Cargill | ConAgra | May 2014 | Wheat Flour | Undisclosed |
| WhiteWave | Earthbound Farm | December 2013 | Organics | $600 million |
| Safra Group/Cutrale Group | Chiquita | January 2015 | Bananas | $1.3 billion |
| Groupo Bimbo | Canada Bread Co. | February 2014 | Bread | $1.6 billion |
| Suntory Holdings | Beam Inc. | May 2014 | Distilleries | $16 billion |
| B&G Foods | General Mills (Green Giant) | September 2015 | Frozen Food | $765 million |
| B&G Foods | Roberts American Gourmet Food | June 2013 | Packaged Goods | $195 million |
| Berkshire Hathaway/3G | Heinz | February 2013 | Packaged Goods | $2.3 billion |
| Mars | Proctor & Gamble | April 2014 | Pet Food | $2.9 billion |
| Perdue | Niman Ranch | September 2015 | Meat | Undisclosed |
| Heineken | Lagunitas Brewing | September 2015 | Beer | Undisclosed |
| Constellation Brands | Ballast Point Brewery | November 2015 | Beer | $1 billion |
| Anheuser-Busch InBev | SABMiller | November 2015 | Beer | $100 billion |
| ChemChina | Syngenta | February 2016 | Agrochemicals | $43 billion |
| JAB Holdings | Krispy Kreme | May 2016 | Restaurants | $1.35 billion |
| Hormel Foods | Justin's Nut Butter | May 2016 | Peanut Butter | Undisclosed |
| Dannone | WhiteWave | July 2016 | Organic Dairy | $10.4 billion |
