The top 10 deals in Q4 2011
| Buyer name | Buyer country | Seller name/unit name | Seller country | Disclosed value(US$m) | Announced | Deal type | Sector | Cross-border or in-border |
| Anadolu Efes Biracilik ve Malt | Turkey | SABMiller PLC/Russian & Ukrainian Beer Businesses | UK | $1,900 | 19 October | Corporate | Beverages | Cross-border |
| Svenska Cellulosa AB | Sweden | Koch Industries, Inc./Georgia- Pacific Services SNC/ European Tissue | US | $1,793 | 10 November | Corporate | HPC | Cross-border |
| Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd. | Japan | Jadangil Participacoes e Representacoes Ltda. | Brazil | $1,348 | 3 November | Corporate | Beverages | Cross-border |
| Cristal Union SCA | France | Societe Vermandoise | France | $1,300 | 4 October | Corporate | Food | In-border |
| The Coca-Cola Company | US | Aujan Industries Co. LLC/ Aujan Industries Co. LLD/ Beverage Operations | Saudi Arabia | $980 | 14 December | Corporate | Beverages | Cross-border |
| Leucadia National Corp. (New York) | US | U.S Premium Beef LLC/National Beef Packing LLC | US | $868 | 5 December | Corporate | Food | In-border |
| Affinity EquityPartners (HK) Ltd. | Hong Kong | P&M Smallgoods Pty Ltd. | Australia | $758 | 13 October | PE | Food | Cross-border |
| Unilever PLC | UK | Kalina Concern OJSC | Russia | $672 | 14 October | Corporate | HPC | Cross-border |
| Heineken NV | Netherlands | Royal Bank of Scotland GroupPLC/Tenant Pub Ops (918) | UK | $659 | 2 December | Corporate | Beverages | Cross-border |
| Tingyi CI HoldingsCorp. | Hong Kong | PepsiCo, Inc./China Bottlers(Hong Kong) Ltd. | US | $600 | 04 November | Corporate | Beverages | Cross-border |
Source: Ernst & Young’s analysis of FactSet Mergerstat data.
Top 10 deals, 2011
| Buyer name | Buyer country | Seller name/unit name | Disclosed value(US$m) | Announced | Deal type | Sector |
| SABMiller PLC | UK | Foster’s Group Ltd. | $10,793 | 21 September | Corporate | Beverages |
| E.I du Pont de Nemours &Co. | US | Danisco A/S | $6,113 | 9 January | Corporate | Food |
| Defitrans SARL (Lactails) | France | Parmalat SpA | $3,485 | 26 April | Corporate | Food |
| Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd. | Japan | Aleadri-Schinni Participacoes ERepresentacoes SA | $2,523 | 1 August | Corporate | Beverages |
| Embotelladoras Arca SABde CV | Mexico | Grupo Continental SAB | $2,302 | 24 January | Corporate | Beverages |
| Diageo PLC | UK | TPG Capital LP/Mey Icki Sanayi veTicaret AS | $2,077 | 21 February | Corporate | Beverages |
| Anadolu Efes Biracilik veMalt Sanayi AS Turkey | Turkey | SABMiller PLC/Russian & Ukrainian BeerBusinesses | $1,900 | 19 October | Corporate | Beverages |
| Svenska Cellulosa AB | Sweden | Koch Industries, Inc./Georgia-PacificServices SNC/European | $1,793 | 10 November | Corporate | HPC |
| Nestle SA | Switzerland | Hsu Fu Chi International Ltd. | $1,698 | 11 July | Corporate | Food |
| PepsiCo, Inc. | USA | Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC | $1,413 | 3 February | Corporate | Beverages |
Source: Ernst & Young’s analysis of FactSet Mergerstat data.
Compared with the previous year, the top 10 deals in 2011 were notable for a significant drop in average value and a smaller number of megadeals.
The top 10 deals in the fourth-quarter had a combined value of $10.9b — 56% of total deal value, the lowest proportion since Q1 2009. Of the top 10, 5 deals were in the beverage sector, 3 in food and the remaining 2 in household and personal care.
There were no deals with a value of more than $5b.
The top 10 deals in Q4 2011
SABMiller active on consolidation trail
In October, SABMiller agreed a strategic alliance with Turkey’s Anadolu Group and Anadolu Efes. SABMiller will transfer its beer businesses in Russia and Ukraine to Anadolu Efes with a value of $1.9b and in return will take a 24% stake in the enlarged Anadolu Efes.
The latter will be the investment vehicle for the alliance, which covers Turkey, Russia, the CIS, Central Asia and the Middle East. Anadolu Group will maintain control of Anadolu Efes with a reduced stake of 42.8%.
Kirin overcomes resistance in Brazil
In Q3 2011, Japan’s Kirin Holdings entered the Brazilian market, paying $2.5b for Aleadri-Schinni Participações e Representações, which holds a 50.45% stake in Schincariol, the Brazilian beer and soft drinks producer. The deal, however, sparked a legal tussle with Schincariol’s minority shareholders, who took out a provisional injunction in a local court to block the deal.
The Coca-Cola Company realizes Middle East ambitions
In December, The Coca-Cola Company announced the acquisition of half of Aujan Industries Co., a Saudi Arabia-based soft beverage group, for $980m.
Under the deal, The Coca-Cola Company will acquire 50% of the equity in the Aujan entity, which owns its brands and 49% of its bottling and distribution business. Aujan also makes Vimto under a licensing agreement that will remain unchanged.
Heineken secures beer route to market in UK
In December, Heineken announced the purchase of Royal Bank of Scotland’s Galaxy Pub Estate, a tenanted pub business, for $659m. Since 1999, the 918 pubs have been managed by Scottish & Newcastle, which was acquired by Heineken in 2008. Combined with its existing portfolio of 462 pubs, Heineken will now have an estate of 1,380 outlets, making it one of the largest pub owner operators in the UK.
PepsiCo rethinks China strategy
The final beverage deal in the top 10 in Q4 2011 was PepsiCo’s strategic alliance in China with Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Company. Under the deal, which has a value of $600m, PepsiCo will sell its beverage bottling business — which comprises 24 owned or joint venture bottling operations — to Tingyi subsidiary Tingyi-Asahi Beverages Holding Co. (TAB) in exchange for a 5% stake in the company.
PepsiCo will have an option to increase this stake to 20% by 2015.
SCA the biggest gets bigger
In November, Swedish paper and hygiene products manufacturer SCA agreed to acquire the European tissue operations of Georgia- Pacific, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, for $1.79b (€1.32b). SCA is already the largest tissue-maker in Europe, and the deal will increase its market share from 25% to 35% in consumer tissue and from 19% to 30% in the away-from-home market.
The company has increasingly moved away from traditional paper products such as packaging and now sees hygiene and tissue products as core businesses.
Unilever plays catch-up in Russian skincare
The second HPC deal in the fourth-quarter’s top 10 deals was the acquisition of 82% of Russian skincare group Kalina Concern by Unilever for $672m. Originally a state-owned cosmetics and perfume business, Kalina was privatized in 1992 and now holds leading positions in the Russian face cream market (30.4%) as well as the hand and body lotion market (35.6%).
Cristal Union pursuing scale
In October, French sugar refiner Cristal Union agreed to purchase local rival Societe Vermandoise for $1.3b (€1b) in a deal that will create the second-largest sugar group in France behind market leader Tereos. The new company will also be the fifth-largest sugar group in Europe. According to Bloomberg, Europe’s sugar producers have been consolidating to combat the impact of cuts in EU production quotas, with Nordzucker AG buying Danisco Sugar and British Sugar acquiring the sugar unit of Ebro Foods SA in 20081.
Private equity’s affinity for meat
Two deals in developed world meat-processing markets were completed in the fourth-quarter. In October, Hong Kong-based private equity group Affinity Equity Partners acquired a 70% stake in Australian meat products firm Primo Smallgoods, the largest producer of ham and bacon in Australia.
The deal value was not disclosed, but press reports suggested that the stake values the company at A$740m ($758m). The Lederer family, which founded Primo, will retain the remaining 30% of the company.
Conglomerate Leucadia moves into meat processing
The quarter’s second deal in the meat-processing sector was announced in December. Leucadia National Corporation agreed to purchase a 78.95% stake in National Beef Packing Company, one of the largest beef processing companies in the US, for $868m from U.S. Premium Beef.
National Beef produces box beef, ground beef, hides and other products that are sold to retailers, food service providers, distributors and the US military. Its former owner, U.S. Premium Beef, is a producer-owned company whose integrated cattle supply system serves as the foundation for National Beef’s product lines.
The top 10 deals in 2011
Top 10 deals, 2011
Compared with the previous year, the top 10 deals in 2011 were notable for a significant drop in average value and a smaller number of megadeals. During 2011, there were just two megadeals: the SABMiller acquisition of Fosters Group and E.l. du Pont’s acquisition of Danisco.
In comparison, there were three megadeals in 2010.
The top 10 deals of 2011 equate to a total value of $34.1b, which is 41.8% of the annual total disclosed deal value. In comparison, the top 10 deals of 2010 totaled $56.8b, which accounted for 56% of the annual total disclosed value.
1Cristal Union Agrees to Buy French Sugar Maker Vermandoise,” Bloomberg, www.bloomberg.com, 4 October 2011.
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