Food Engineering logo
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • MEDIA
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Latest Headlines
  • Manufacturing News
  • People & Industry News
  • Plant Openings
  • Recalls
  • Regulatory Watch
  • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
  • New Plant Products
  • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
  • Alternative Protein
  • Automation
  • Cannabis
  • Cleaning | Sanitation
  • Fabulous Food Plants
  • Food Safety
  • Maintenance Strategies
  • OEE
  • Packaging
  • Sustainability
  • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • Plant Construction Survey
  • Plant of the Year
  • Sustainable Plant of the Year
  • State of Food Manufacturing
  • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • White Papers
  • EVENTS
  • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
  • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
  • eNewsletter
  • Custom Content & Marketing Services
  • FE Store
  • Government Links
  • Industry Associations
  • Market Research
  • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
  • eMagazine
  • Archive Issue
  • Advertise
Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Latest headlines

Market Research

Capstone Partners Report Highlights M&A Activity in Food Sector

Capstone April 2024 report cover
April 30, 2024

Capstone Partners, a middle market investment banking firm, has released its April 2024 Food Sector Update.

The firm reports that the food sector has showcased defensibility amid elevated inflation and interest rates, evidenced by healthy levels of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity through year-to-date (YTD).

While heightened food inflation plagued consumers for much of 2023, the sector’s M&A market has persevered as participants raised prices in accordance with inflation. Food inflation is forecasted to moderately decelerate in 2024, with the consumer price index for all food products anticipated to increase 2.9% by year end, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The expected price deceleration will likely prompt acquirers in the space to focus on target companies with product volume-driven earnings growth. The impacts of food price deceleration on company performance and M&A opportunities will depend on the subsector. Notably, M&A activity in the food distribution space will likely trail other areas of the sector as distributors lose pricing power.

Public players in the sector have demonstrated significant margin strength, due in part by elevated food prices. As of Feb. 29, average public company last twelve-month (LTM) EBITDA margins either increased or remained the same year-over-year (YOY) in nearly every area of the market, barring grocery distribution and protein processing.

Food input costs are also expected to decline throughout 2024, further bolstering public company margins and expanding available acquisition capital. As a result, strategic buyers have continued to control the Food M&A market. Strategics accounted for 65.8% of sector deals in 2023 and have comprised 51.2% of transactions YTD. Private equity firms remained on the sidelines for much of 2023 as an elevated interest rate environment hindered transaction financing. Despite this, financial acquirers have comprised nearly half (48.8%) of food sector deals YTD.

While it may be too early to categorize this uptick as sponsors’ reentrance into the M&A market, certain pockets of the sector have garnered heightened buyer interest from sponsor-backed acquirers. Of note, private equity add-on engagements in the branded food subsector have risen 250% YOY in YTD 2024. Sponsors’ eventual return to the M&A market will likely be catalyzed by limited partner (LP) pressure to generate returns and the significant levels of dry powder left to deploy, totaling $1.5 trillion in 2023. In addition, the majority ($955.7 billion) of dry powder is held in U.S.-domiciled funds, providing a favorable outlook for stateside deals in 2024.

Also included in this report:

  • How average sector purchase multiples have fared compared to the broader consumer industry
  • Why private equity firms have increasingly targeted participants in the branded food subsector
  • How food disinflation has impacted M&A volume and buyer interest in the food distribution subsector
  • Why the food processing subsector has continued to lead sector M&A activity in terms of deal volume
KEYWORDS: market research merger mergers and acquisitions

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    With a CAGR of 12.07%, Bonafide Research estimates this...
    People & Industry News
  • skilled MEP worker

    Predicting Food and Beverage Manufacturing Trends for 2024

    The two words that should be kept in mind are labor and...
    Automation
    By: Derrick Teal
  • cleaning and sanitation

    The basics of cleaning and sanitation in food plants

    Sanitation maintains or restores a state of cleanliness...
    Food Safety
    By: Richard F. Stier
Manage My Account
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Customer Service

Food Plant Openings and Expansions June 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions June 2025

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Shalima Sreenath

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Shalima Sreenath

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Samara Heaggans

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Samara Heaggans

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

More Videos

Popular Stories

Cargill Cocoa Plant

Cargill Invests in its Cocoa Supply Chain

Campbell’s Utah plant

Going for Gold(fish): Inside The Campbell’s Company’s $160M Cracker Plant Expansion

Woman engineer on construction site

Exploring the Impact of Women Engineers on the Food Industry

CHECK OUT OUR NEW ESSENTIAL TOPICS

Alternative ProteinAutomationCleaning/SanitationFabulous Food Plants

Food SafetyMaintenance StrategiesOEE

PackagingSustainability

Events

June 17, 2025

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ State of the Cold Chain

On Demand Kelley Rodriguez, Editor in Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, will be joined in this 60-minute webinar by industry experts to help unpack the latest research.

July 23, 2025

Decarbonizing Process Heat: What You Should Know and Next Steps

Driven by climate goals, business risk, client interest, and resilience considerations, food and beverage companies are increasingly turning their attention to decarbonizing their production processes.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

See More Products

Plant of the Year

Related Articles

  • M&A general clip art image.jpg

    M&A volume is up in the food and agriculture sector

    See More
  • Baking

    Report: Food and Beverage Companies Streamline Portfolios, Turn to Snacking through M&A

    See More
  • Food & Beverage M&A Activity Surges

    Food & Beverage M&A Activity Surges

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • statical.jpg

    Statistical Process Control for the Food Industry: A Guide for Practitioners and Managers

  • food crime.jpg

    Food Crime: An Introduction to Deviance in the Food Industry

  • cleaning-in-place

    Cleaning-in-Place: Dairy, Food and Beverage Operations, 3rd Edition

See More Products
×

Elevate your expertise in food engineering with unparalleled insights and connections.

Get the latest industry updates tailored your way.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Food Master
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!