PepsiCo and Tyson Foods Highlight Major Food Acquisitions Last Week

​Last week, 107 M&A deals were announced or completed, representing $19.355 billion of invested capital, according to Pitchbook. Business-to-business companies were involved in 35 of those deals, the most of any sector, and energy firms spent the most on M&A last week at $4.792 billion. Some noteworthy transactions from the week are listed below:

• US chicken processor Tyson Foods (NYS: TSN) is set to acquire Keystone Foods for $2.16 billion in cash. Keystone is the provider of the fish for McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish, along with 150 million pounds of beef and 300 million pounds of chicken annually. This is the second recent move by Tyson into the seafood sector. Earlier this year, the chicken giant purchased four rendering plants for processing chicken by-product into aquafeeds. 

• PepsiCo (NAS: PEP) has agreed to acquire SodaStream (NAS: SODA), a do-it-yourself seltzer-maker company, for $3.2 billion. SodaStream is a producer of home-based water-carbonating and flavoring machines that allow consumers to create their own sodas and seltzers from their kitchen. The deal fits Pepsi’s shift towards healthier foods as sparkling water becomes a top choice for consumers, with sales growing 42% in the past five years, according to Beverage Marketing Corp.

• Scottsdale, Arizona-based GPS- and GSNN-maker Hemisphere GNSS has agreed to buy Outback Guidance for an undisclosed sum. Outback Guidance is a developer of GPS systems for tractor guidance, field mapping, and precision spraying ground agricultural applications. The deal supports Hemisphere GNSS’s push into the global agricultural market.
  

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• Mattress start-up Tuft & Needle has agreed to merge with Serta Simmons, a major player in brick-and-mortar mattress retail. The six-year-old company Tuft & Needle retails by selling direct-to-consumer through its online website, garnering $170 million in net income last year. Serta Simmons will retain the Tuft & Needle brand name and use the start-up’s existing e-commerce infrastructure to build out its own online sales campaign.