The food industry has long been a fertile area for deal activity. Companies that can offer well-known brands and strong steady cash flows are attractive to both strategic buyers and private equity firms. Food, along with tobacco, was at the heart of one of the fiercest corporate takeover battles â€" the fight for RJR Nabisco, as famously chronicled in “Barbarians at the Gate.â€
The acquisition announced on Thursday by Warren E. Buffett and 3G Capital Management ranks No. 4 among food deals, at $27.28 billion figure, which includes debt but is net of cash, according to Thomson Reuters data. The spinoff of Kraft Foods from Altria in 2007 ranks as the largest food deal.
Here are the biggest, according to Thomson Reuters:
10 Biggest Food Deals
| Source: Thomson Reuters * Deal is pending. | |||
| $61.5 | Kraft Foods | Shareholders | January 2007 |
| 60.4 | Anheuser-Busch | InBev NV | June 2008 |
| 36.0 | Kraft Foods-North American Grocery | Shareholders | September 2012 |
| 27.2 | HJ Heinz | Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital Partners | February 2013* |
| 23.6 | Bestfoods | Unilever | May 2000 |
| 23.1 | William Wrigley Jr. | Mars | April 2008 |
| 20.8 | Cadbury | Kraft Foods | September 2009 |
| 20.0 | Grupo Modelo SAB de CV | Anheuser-Busch Inbev | May 2012* |
| 19.3 | Nabisco Holdings | Philip Morris | May 2000 |
| 18.6 | Scottish & Newca! stle | L’Arche Green NV | October 2007 |
