From the big deals to the quiet divestments, Food & Drink Business editor, Kim Berry, recounts the mergers and acquisitions of 2025.
There was lots of shuffling the deck chairs this year, kicking off with The Coca-Cola Company acquiring Billson’s Beverages out of voluntary administration. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners then stepped in to take over sales and distribution, as it rebuilds its alcoholic beverage portfolio after Suntory Oceania took it all back in-house.
Billson’s had been family owned and operating for around seven years. Its alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages (ARTD) were known for their bright colours and nod to memories of childhood lollies and treats. For Coca-Cola, the deal would expand its offering in the ARTD market.
The deal meant Billson’s co-founders, Nathan and Felicity Cowan, retained the cordial, soda, and beer parts of the business but operate under a new brand name as well as keep their hospitality business in Beechworth.
The ACCC gave Woolworths’ proposed acquisition of the remaining 77 per cent of ready meals company, B&J City Kitchen, a good once-over and approved the deal. The Commission found the deal would not disadvantage rival ready meal producers as there were other retailers and channels they could access. B&J City Kitchen – now called Kitchenary – includes brands Strength Meals Co ready meals, Simmone Logue gourmet pies and pastries, Pitango soups, Artisano soups and sauces, and Pasta Master chilled lasagne and pasta ready meals.
That’s the spirit
Top Shelf International’s business trajectory was tenuous for some time. The producer of NED whisky, Grainshaker vodka, and Act of Treason agave spirit was bucketing out water from the embattled ship as fast as it could, but ultimately to no avail. It sold its Campbellfield factory to Idyll Wine Co for $8 million, which cleared its debt with the tax office, but another restructure, an attempted funding raise, and a new distributor were not enough. It went into voluntary administration in August and was acquired by Blue Sky Drinks, a deal that included the business and exclusive licence for its Act of Treason agave spirit.
In other alcohol related acquisitions, independent craft brewery, Mountain Culture, acquired Fox Friday Brewing after it went into voluntary administration in mid-April. By June, Mountain Culture announced it would rebrand some venues and on-sell Carwyn Cellars and the Perth brewpub.
Sydney Brewery bought Rocks Brewing Co, Maxwell Wines acquired Fox Creek Wines, and Yarra Valley-based non-alcoholic distillery, Banks Botanicals, was acquired by Alchemy Distillers with the intention of supporting the brand in its next stage of expansion and innovation.
Sunnyside up
Private equity firms were also on form this year – Pace Farm, owned by Roc Partners, acquired Kinross Farms to add its free-range, barn-laid, cage and rearing farms to its portfolio, while KKR acquired ProTen, one of the country’s largest chicken producers for a reported $1.3b. ProTen raises around 160m birds a year, with more than 700 poultry sheds across 60 farms. By the end of the year, there was speculation Roc was looking to sell Pace, which it only acquired in 2023.
Eggs are a big deal in Australia, we eat 232 eggs each per year, almost double the global average (161). Needless to say, egg prices rising 19.1 per cent year on year, as they did this year, have a big impact on the consumer.
Along with eggs, Roc Partners took a shine to fresh produce and acquired Freshmax Group. Freshmax and ValleyFresh are the face of the group’s domestic and international businesses, with export operations in seven countries around the Asia-Pacific and supply chain service assets across Australia’s eastern seaboard. Roc Partners said it plans to “invest significantly” in the company.
Recognising value
Last year there was the worrying development of Australian Plant Proteins (APP) (the first company in Australia to develop and commercialise a plant protein isolate powder) going into voluntary administration. In March it was acquired by My Co, the investment vehicle for the Paule Family Office, which focuses on FABtech (Food, Agri & Bio) start-ups.
APP is renowned for its patented fractionation technology, producing high-quality protein isolates from faba beans, yellow pea, lentils, mung beans and other pulses through a unique extraction process, differentiating it from other plant protein manufacturers worldwide. As My Co CEO, Vicky Pappas said, the potential for the APP was “immense”. It also won the 2024 Hive Award for Best Ingredient.
In the confectionery sector, Koko Black acquired Melbourne-based Chocolatier Australia and its 5812 square metre production facility as the next step in its expansion. Chocolatier’s multimillion-dollar purpose-built factory provided a ready vehicle for Koko Black to increase local production. The facility is the only one of its kind in the Asia-Pacific regionand includes a 4000sqm climate-controlled warehouse. Koko Black owner, Simon Crowe, said the existing workforce of skilled chocolatiers and food manufacturers would bolster Koko Black’s team.
And Pure Foods Tasmania (PFT) acquired premium ice cream brand, Elato, as it looks to restructure its frozen desserts portfolio and establish a new multi-brand ice cream division.
Elato, founded by Roz Kaldor-Aroni and Benni Aroni, is currently ranged on the east coast in more than 400 supermarkets, including Woolworths, and cinema channels. Its annualised revenue is more than $600,000. Under the deal, PFT will acquire all intellectual property, recipes and supply agreements for an initial $50,000 in PFT shares, with up to four million additional shares tied to revenue and profitability milestones.
Elato won the Rising Star Award in this year’s Hive Awards and was the Rising Star profile in the April/May 2023 edition of Food & Drink Business.
Peanuts and processing
Meanwhile, Bega said that after a 12-month review, the lack of a buyer, and ongoing annual operating losses of $5-10 million, it would wind down and close its peanut processing business, Peanut Company of Australia (PCA). Bega acquired the company in 2017 and said that despite upgrades to site safety and initiatives to boost production, it hadn’t been able to develop a sustainable business model. Its processing facilities at Crestmead and Malanda will continue operating.
But fourth generation agribusiness, Crumpton Group, stepped in and bought the land, buildings, and equipment. Its long history in peanut growing, shelling, processing, roasting and supplying peanut products to the Australian market meant the acquisition would help it serve peanut growers in all regions.
From peanuts to cows, JBS Australia business, Andrews Meat Industries (AMI), acquired foodservice wholesaler, Prime Cut Meats. The move expands AMI’s protein supply capabilities in Queensland and northern New South Wales and is expected to lift the business to more than $650 million turnover in the next financial year.
And still in the paddock, Kimberley Meat Company (KMC), the only commercial-scale abattoir in northern Western Australia, and its parent company, Yeeda Pastoral Company, were acquired by TLP4 Australian Holdings, a subsidiary of Canadian government-owned investment fund, Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo).
In February 2024, KMC and Yeeda went into voluntary administration with debts of more than $100 million to around 175 unsecured creditors. It also owed more than $5 million to local businesses and was under state government investigation for alleged animal abuse, with more than 400 cattle and the illegal dumping of slaughtered animal waste on Yeeda Station.
KMC is located roughly 100 kilometres east of Broome and was the only large-scale abattoir north of Perth. AIMCo expects to have the abattoir operational by 2027.
Cheese moves
The dairy sector is always one for activity and this year was no different.
Maggie Beer Holdings (MBH) finally sold Paris Creek Farms to Victorian food manufacturer and distributor, Katoomba Global Foods (KGF), three years after first flagging it would offload its dairy assets.
In 2022, MBH declared it a non-core asset and put it up for sale, then welcomed it back into the fold in 2023. At the time the board said it saw viability for the dairy if the facility was upgraded and used as a dairy manufacturing asset for Maggie Beer products as well as Paris Creek. But the first half of FY24 saw a 10 per cent drop in revenue and a third-party supplier for Maggie Beer cheeses, so the planned investment was put on hold.
MBH chair, Mark Lindh, said the divestment to KGF was important for the company’s strategy to simplify operations and accelerate profitability. KGF paid $500,000 with all existing liabilities, including staff entitlements. MBH said the sale would result in annualised cashflow savings of $2.2 million.
Artisanal Italian-style cheesemaker, Alba Cheese, has been acquired by private equity firm, Apta Group. The second-generation Victorian company was not looking for a complete exit, but a long-term strategy to maximise growth opportunities, particularly in export markets where it is experiencing demand. Alba Cheese branded products are sold in Australia and overseas.
Apta acquired Village Dairy Australia last year and has Southern Valley in its portfolio. One of its shareholders is ingredients company, Oppenheimer.
And this brings us to the deal of the year. Fonterra had a number of suitors knocking on its door this year as it looked to divest its global Consumer business. There were three parties in the running, French global dairy business Lactalis, Bega Group (which reportedly partnered with FrieslandCampina), and Japanese food company, Meiji Holdings Co. Lactalis was on the front foot from the get-go, submitting an informal clearance to bid with the ACCC. The Commission said it wouldn’t oppose the deal, and while it would see two of the largest buyers of raw milk combine, it was “unlikely” it would result in a lessening of competition.
In August, Fonterra announced Lactalis was acquiring its global Consumer business (excluding Greater China) and Consumer brands, its integrated Foodservice and Ingredients businesses in Oceania and Sri Lanka, and the Middle East and Africa Foodservice business for $3.48b (NZ$3.845b).
So there are clearly opportunities to be had and money moving around the sector. I can’t wait to see what unfolds in 2026 brings.
This article first appeared in the December 2025/January 2026 edition of Food & Drink Business magazine.
