Local food and beverage industry M&A activity continued to climb last year with the number of deals exceeding that of 2017.
According to an annual review of Australian and New Zealand transactions by Comet Line Consulting, 52 transactions took place in 2018 compared to 44 in 2017, with most falling in the $10 million to $100 million enterprise value range.
2018 also saw increased private equity participation in transactions as well as and family office investors in the food and beverage industry, according to Comet Line Consulting. 18 of the 52 transactions announced in 2018 – 35 per cent – involved financial investors such as private equity or family office investors, compared to 30 per cent in 2017.
In 2018, however, there were fewer larger transactions, with only two with valued in excess of $400 million – NZ poultry company Tegel which was bought by Philippines counterpart Bounty Fresh Food for $NZ438 million, and vitamin company Nature’s Care which was bought by a Chinese investor group for an estimated $800 million.
2018 also saw a significant decrease in number of IPOs, with just three taking place - Marley Spoon, Keytone Dairy, and Angel Seafood - in 2018, compared to eight in 2017. However $93 million was raised by companies listing on the ASX in 2018, compared to $80 million in 2017. In 2016, in contrast, $1 billion was raised by food and beverage companies listing on the ASX.
