Food industry takeovers continue to rise

There were 413 M&A deals completed during 2007, with a further 60 agreed but not completed by year end. This compares to the 392 deals that were completed, and the 59 that were under agreement, in 2006. Within the ingredients sector, there were 14 deals agreed or closed in 2007, down just slightly from 16 in 2006. The main transactions include Archer Daniels Midland's agreement to buy Fasco Mills, a grain and feed company, and a strategic investment in Singapore-based oilseed specialist Wilmar International. In an unrelated deal going the other way, Singapore's Olam International bought peanut blancher Universal Blanchers. Also of note were the merger of MJ Davis & Co. and George's Organics to form Organic Partners International, whose primary product lines include tropical oils, dried beans, oil and confectionary seeds and specialty grains, and Gadot Biochemical Industries' purchase of an 85 percent stake in Pharmline Holding, which makes premixes for the nutraceuticals market. Other health ingredients deals include the sale of Cargill's Prolisse soy proteins business to Solae and Synergy Flavor's - which supplies nutraceutical makers - takeover of Vanlab. Meanwhile, Balchem of New York acquired the European choline chloride business of Akzo Nobel, while Corn Products International bought specialty polyols maker SPI Polyols. Other cross-border deals in the ingredients sector included Dutch group CSM's acquisition of Titteringtons, a supplier of bakery products, and Ireland's Glanbia buying Pizzey's Milling of Canada. Proliant Meat Ingredients bought Fisher Foods, a maker of stocks and broths for the meat industry, while Quality Food Brands bought a baking mix facility in Michigan from an investment fund. Ajinomoto subsidiary Knorr Foods completed the acquisition of New Season Foods, which produces sweet corn powder and other vegetable ingredients primarily for instant soups, while Treehouse Foods took a 49 percent stake in Santa Fe Ingredients, a New Mexico-based chile processing company. Spice firm McCormick also agreed to buy marinades and seasoning blends manufacturer Lawry's from Unilever for $605m and Tate & Lyle Canada was bought by American Sugar Refining. The biggest number of transactions, perhaps not surprisingly, came from food processors, accounting for 94 closed deals and 16 agreed in 2007, down slightly from the previous year. But the Food Institute report also confirmed the clear trend of recent years, with the number of transactions carried out by investment firms and banks - rather than between food companies - rising to 89 over the year, although restaurants rather than food processors were their main targets, accounting for 44 percent of investment company deals. Outside the restaurant sector, however, there were some key deals including investment companies and banks. The Blackstone Group, for example, acquired Pinnacle Foods Group, maker of Vlasic, Swanson, Van de Kamps and Mrs Buttersworth's, for $2.16 bn in cash, while SIG Strategic Investments acquired U.S. Mills, which markets cereal and snack food brands, including Uncle Sam,Erewhon, Farina, New Morning and Skinner's. Although the number of acquisitions by food processors decreased by 14.5 per cent in 2007, the individual transactions were significant. "One thing to be said about the deals being carried out in the food processing and beverage sectors is that these acquisitions have a very specific strategic focus: larger consumer packaged goods firms are purchasing smaller, health-focused companies and brands, namely Coca-Cola's purchase of glacéau and Fuze beverages, PepsiCo's purchase of Naked Juice, and Kellogg's purchase of Bear Naked granola,"​ said Danielle Breuel, research and education director at the NJ-based trade association. Mergers and acquisitions by food processors focused essentially on multi-product producers, which accounted for 34 percent of all deals. However, there was also considerable interest in dairy companies (11.7 percent), liquor firms (10.6 percent), snack food makers (9.6 percent) and fruit and vegetable processors (7.4 percent). Among the main food processing deals were ConAgra's acquisition of privately-held popcorn snacks manufacturer Lincoln Snacks, maker of Poppycock and Fiddle Faddle, for around $50m, as well as its takeover of natural food company Alexia Foods for roughly the same sum. Hain Celestial Group, meanwhile, acquired the tofu and meat-alternative business of WhiteWave Foods, a subsidiary of Dean Foods, and Ralcorp Holdings reached an agreement with Kraft Foods to merge the latter's Post cereals business with its own in a deal worth around $2.6bn. Ralcorp will become the third-largest cereal maker in the US, gaining brands such as Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, Post Selects, Spoon Size Shredded Wheat, Grape Nuts and Post Raisin Bran. Elsewhere in the snacks sector, J&J Snack Foods - whose products include SuperPretzel, Icee, and Slush Puppie - made three acquisitions: Hom/Ade Foods, a manufacturer and distributor of biscuits and dumplings sold under the Mary B's and private label store brands; Radar, which manufactures and sells fig and fruit bars under the Daddy Ray's brand; and Whole Fruit Sorbet and Freeze Frozen Fruit Bar Brands from Cool Brands International. In the meat product sector, Smithfield Foods acquired Premium Standard Farms, one of the largest vertically integrated providers of pork products in the US, for $800m, while Brazil's J&F Participacoes, the main shareholder in JBS, the largest beef processor in Latin America and one of the largest exporters of beef in the world, ought Swift & Co. for $1.4bn. European companies were active too, with Swiss giant Nestlé completing two major acquisitions in 2007 - Gerber and Novartis Medical Nutrition, following on from its Jenny Craig acquisition in 2006.