Orkla, Pernod Ricard, Nestlé, Asahi, PepsiCo, Lactalis, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Azelis, Berlin Packaging, Kirin and Waterlogic were the most acquisitive companies of 2019, according to the bevblog.net food and drink transactions database, with each responsible for five or more takeovers. Archer Daniels Midland, Bimbo, Diageo, Emmi, JBS and Refresco all made four purchases.
Campbell Soup was the only company to agree five or more sales, followed by Fonterra on four, then Coca-Cola, Hain Celestial and Nestlé on three.
A total of 1,290 companies were involved across 59 countries, with the United States and United Kingdom most prominent overall.
Global food and drink transactions by country 2018-19
Rank | Country | 2018 | 2019 |
Top buyers | |||
1 | United States | 312 | 305 |
2 | United Kingdom | 94 | 93 |
3 | France | 39 | 51 |
4 | Spain | 29 | 35 |
5 | Canada | 26 | 25 |
Top sellers | |||
1 | United States | 329 | 328 |
2 | United Kingdom | 116 | 130 |
3= | Spain | 34 | 41 |
France | 24 | 41 | |
5 | Australia | 22 | 25 |
Japan was the biggest net buyer (+18), followed by France (+10), then Belgium and Norway (+9 each).
The United Kingdom was the main net seller (-37), followed by the United States (-23), Australia (-16) and Brazil (-11).