Updates first paragraph to add Keurig Dr Pepper
By Juveria Tabassum
Aug 25 (Reuters) - Keurig Dr Pepper KDP.O said on Monday it will buy Dutch coffee company JDE Peet's JDEP.AS for $18.4 billion at a time when the highly competitive global coffee industry grapples with steep commodity costs, and people look for healthier sodas.
Deal-making in the packaged food industry has been robust, with companies looking for consolidation and help to weather inflationary pressures and shifting consumer preferences.
Here's a list of the biggest M&As in the industry over the past few decades:
Date | Merger |
Dec. 17 2002 | Britain's Cadbury Schweppes Plc agreed to buy U.S. sweet maker Adams, owner of Trident and Dentyne chewing gums and Halls cough drops, for $4.2 billion from drugmaker Pfizer PFE.N, making it the world's largest confectionery group. |
Nov. 30, 2007 | Kraft Foods completes its acquisition of France-based Group Danone's global biscuit business for 5.3 billion euros ($7.2 billion), including the LU family of brands, expanding the largest North American food maker's foothold in Europe and emerging markets. |
April 29, 2008 | Mars created the world's largest confectionary company with its $23 billion acquisition of chewing gum manufacturer Wm Wrigley Jr Co. Combined, the two companies held 14.4% of the global confectionary market in 2006. |
Jan. 5, 2010 | Nestle bought Kraft Foods' North American frozen pizza business for $3.7 billion and ruled out an offer for Cadbury. |
Jan. 19, 2010 | Kraft Foods bought British candy maker Cadbury for about $19.6 billion, creating the world's biggest confectioner, marking the largest European food and beverage deal on record, according to Thomson Reuters data. |
Aug. 4, 2011 | Kraft Foods said it would spin-off its grocery business to focus on its snacks unit, which was seeing strong growth in emerging markets. |
April. 23, 2012 | Nestle bought U.S. drugmaker Pfizer's infant nutrition business for $11.85 billion, beating out French rival Danone as both sought to gain a strong foothold in the baby food market. |
Oct. 1, 2012 | Kraft Foods completes the split of its business, creating two separate companies. Mondelez International, a global snacks company, and Kraft Foods Group, which would be the North American grocery products firm. |
July 2, 2015 | H.J. Heinz Co, backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, completed its purchase of Kraft Foods Group Inc in a $46 billion deal, creating the third-largest food and beverage company in North America and fifth largest worldwide. The new company, Kraft Heinz KHC.O, was expected to have about $28 billion of annual revenue from brands such as Oscar Mayer, Jell-O and Heinz ketchup. |
Aug. 29, 2016 | Mondelez International abandoned its pursuit to acquire Reese's Peanut Butter Cups maker Hersheys HSY.N after the company turned down its $23 billion cash-and-stock offer. The deal would have created the world's largest confectioner at the time, overtaking Mars. |
Jan. 18, 2018 | Swiss food group Nestle, also the world's biggest packaged-food company, agreed to sell its U.S. confectionery business to Italy's Ferrero, maker of Nutella spread and Ferrero Rocher, for $2.8 billion. |
Jan. 29, 2018 | Keurig Green Mountain struck a deal worth more than $21 billion to combine with soda maker Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc to form a North American drinks company, Keurig Dr Pepper KDP.N |
Feb. 23, 2018 | Cheerios cereal maker General Mills GIS.N bought Blue Buffalo Pet Products Inc for nearly $8 billion, foraying into a fast-growing pet food market to counter declining sales of processed foods, as consumers turned more health conscious. |
Dec. 11, 2019 | Nestle SA agreed to sell its U.S. ice cream business to Froneri in a deal valued at $4 billion, moving control of brands including Häagen-Dazs to a joint venture the Swiss group set up in 2016. |
June 21, 2022 | Cadbury parent Mondelez International bought energy bar maker Clif Bar & Company for $2.9 billion, as the company continued to consolidate its global presence. |
April 25, 2022 | Mondelez International MDLZ.O broadened its presence in Mexico with a $1.3 billion purchase of breadmaker Grupo Bimbo's BIMBOA.MX confectionery business, Ricolino. |
Dec. 19, 2022 | Mondelez sold its gum business, which housed brands such as Trident and Dentyne, in developed markets to European gum and confectionery maker and Mentos parent Perfetti Van Melle Group for $1.35 billion |
March 12, 2024 | U.S. packaged food maker Campbell Soup CPB.N completes the acquisition of Rao's Homemade-owner Sovos Brands SOVO.O in a $2.33-billion deal. |
Aug. 14, 2024 | Snickers-maker Mars buys Pringles owner Kellanova K.N in a nearly $36 billion deal. |
Sept. 12, 2024 | Cheerios maker General Mills GIS.N sold North America yogurt business to French dairy firms Groupe Lactalis and Sodiaal in a $2.1 billion deal. |
Oct. 1, 2024 | PepsiCo PEP.O bought Siete Foods parent Garza Food Ventures for $1.2 billion, beefing up the Frito-Lay owner's snacking portfolio amid a shift to private-label brands among cost-conscious consumers. |
Dec. 21, 2024 | General Mills bought Whitebridge Pet Brands' North American premium cat feeding and pet treating business, which includes Tiki Pets and Cloud Star brands, for $1.45 billion. |
July 10, 2025 | WK Kellogg KLG.N agreed to be bought by the owner of Ferrero Rocher in a deal worth around $3.1 billion, as the cereal maker struggled with weakening consumer demand. |
Aug. 25, 2025 | Keurig Dr Pepper KDP.O said it will buy Dutch coffee company JDE Peet's JDEP.AS for $18.4 billion in cash, and the combined firm will split its beverages and coffee units as it looks for a firmer stronghold over the global coffee and North America refreshment beverages markets. |
Source: Company releases, Reuters articles
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum and Anshi Sancheti; Editing by Maju Samuel and Sahal Muhammed)
((Juveria.Tabassum@thomsonreuters.com;))
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