67 acquisitions in May

May was a massive month for food and drink transactions, with 67 being recorded on the bevblog.net mergers and acquisitions database. Do take a look at www.bevblog.net or www.zenithglobal.com.

6 deals topped $500 million, including 4 above $1,000 million and 2 over $5,000 million.

• At $7,150 million, Nestlé’s acquisition of Starbucks ready to drink retail rights outside its outlets was just ahead of

• $7,100 million was in ingredients for US-based IFF to buy Israel’s Frutarom.

• £1,500 million was the price agreed for UK-based Pret A Manger to move from Bridgepoint private equity to JAB Holdings.

• $1,000 million enabled Middleby to buy Taylor Company in equipment from United Technologies in the United States.

Of the 67 total, 8 were in ingredients, 7 in alcohol, 7 in soft drinks, 6 in dairy, 6 in packaging, 5 in snacks, 4 in equipment, 4 in nutrition and 4 in meat-free/vegan.

17 were funding rounds of some kind.

29 countries featured in May. 30 deals were within national borders, 23 of these in the United States. 37 were international.

Overall, the United States was involved in 36, the United Kingdom in 16, France in 6, the Netherlands in 5, Israel in 4, Germany in 3 and Switzerland in 3.