While 2019 was not a vintage year for food industry mergers and acquisitions (M&A), it was notable for how many large players snapped up - or invested in - smaller companies operating in fast growing, on-trend categories, says GlobalData.

The value of deals was down year-on-year in the nine months to the end of September and, in M&A circles, advisers remarked on a low conversion rate to concluded transactions.

However, some of the deals that did take place were eye-catching for their strategic importance.

Andy Coyne, Food Correspondent at GlobalData, says: "Deals involving major food companies buying each other were few and far between in 2019, but smaller businesses operating in categories linked to health and wellness or plant-based protein alternatives, for example, found themselves in high demand.

"Typical of what was happening this year was Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever acquiring UK healthy snacks supplier (and direct-to-consumer business) Graze and US food and beverage behemoth PepsiCo spotting opportunities in sports nutrition and in healthy snacks with moves for CytoSport and BFY Brands, respectively.

"One can also point to confectionery giant Mondelez International looking to the future by taking a minority investment in Uplift Food, a local early-stage start-up focusing on pre-biotic functional foods and US meat giant Tyson Foods making a move in a different area of protein alternatives by investing in New Wave Foods, a producer of plant-based shrimp.

"It is likely in 2020 'Big Food' will continue their attempts to get in shape to benefit from macro trends that look like they are here to stay but advisers will also be hoping that the big beasts of the industry remember to take a bite out of each other every now and again."

ENDS

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