Food & Beverages

Fake chocolate is a sweeter bet than plant burgers

28 Mar 2025

Once-hyped startups failed to displace beef with eco-conscious alternatives. Artificial confections have a stronger pitch: as candy makers like Hershey struggle to hedge rising cocoa costs amid a supply crunch, economic reality will tempt the $130 bln treat industry into the lab.

UK antitrust U-turn will awaken no-go megadeals

21 Mar 2025

The Competition and Markets Authority is reviewing how it probes M&A and faces a possible new law curtailing its powers. A laxer stance from the watchdog might resuscitate old ideas like Sainsbury’s $9 bln Asda bid. It may also boost new ones, like Shell-BP.

Caterers’ US indigestion may only be for starters

20 Mar 2025

Sodexo’s shares fell 18% after it said falling demand for its meal services in North American universities would dent forecasts. Providing multi-year public sector food contracts should be a stable business. Tariffs and Donald Trump’s efficiency drive may make it less so.

EU firms’ barriers to Russia re-entry are sky-high

10 Mar 2025

Groups like Renault and Inditex quit the country after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Contracts make it theoretically feasible for them to return. But even if a peace deal proves possible, the risks are too great for European groups to go back.

Bubble tea giant gives Hong Kong needed IPO jolt

3 Mar 2025

The 42% pop in early trading for Mixue, China’s dominant chain with more shops than Starbucks, shows scale still sells on the street and in the market. The city’s largest listing this year augurs well for bigger debuts to come — including battery maker CATL’s $5 bln offering.

Seven & i hurtles towards a shareholder showdown

27 Feb 2025

The shares fell 11% after the family behind the $42 bln owner of 7-Eleven gave up trying to take it private. Pushy investors are likely to use the upcoming AGM to press the board to justify its weak strategy and engage properly with Couche-Tard, its unwanted Canadian suitor.

New Unilever CEO has a chance to revisit mega-M&A

25 Feb 2025

Hein Schumacher is leaving the $139 bln Dove soap maker after less than two years. His replacement, finance boss Fernando Fernandez, inherits a stable of mostly humdrum brands vulnerable to competition. Buying something, like previous target Haleon or a beauty group, may help.

Prosus’ delivery M&A makes most sense as a starter

24 Feb 2025

The $105 bln investor is paying $4 bln for Just Eat Takeaway.com. Prosus shares fell, perhaps due to the target’s past struggles and the absence of immediate synergies. But if the Dutch group used its Delivery Hero stake to drive a tie-up with Just Eat it might create more value.

Walmart drops bag of fear into trolley of greed

20 Feb 2025

The retail giant touted a strong holiday season, but it also flagged potential worries about inflation-drained shoppers and looming tariffs. Such ambivalence cost it 6%, or some $50 bln, of market value. It’s the latest sign of how Trump-fueled economic exuberance is fading.

Sticky inflation is a quagmire for tariff plans

12 Feb 2025

A surprisingly high 3% annual rise in US prices threatens to halt interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, and that’s before new tariffs go into effect. Policymakers seem to see gutting spending as the preferred fix. Scrapping inflationary trade barriers is a better bet.

Heineken mixes tasty cocktail for insipid future

12 Feb 2025

The $45 bln brewer’s shares jumped 12% after it raised its profit outlook for 2025. It was a surprise for a sector facing slowing sales and tariff wars. But by cutting costs and boosting investment, Heineken and peers can manage the decline and prop up their depressed valuations.

Sober Diageo makes for a sour investor cocktail

4 Feb 2025

CEO Debra Crew abandoned the $64 billion drinks maker’s sales target, without offering new guidance. And her twin engines of tequila and Guinness are exposed to US tariffs, or not richly valued by investors. High debt may force her to cut costs and sell assets, risking growth.

Consumer giants’ growth no longer involves food

31 Jan 2025

Unilever plans to invest in beauty but will not spend any of its M&A budget on edible goods. That’s a big shift for the $143 bln group, noted for Marmite and Magnums. As rivals like Nestlé see shoppers snub brands, the strategy could add value – but it’s hard for others to copy.

Fevertree’s Molson Coors brew tastes bittersweet

30 Jan 2025

The Blue Moon maker has purchased an 8.5% stake in the $1.2 bln purveyor of posh tonic water and exclusive rights to sell its mixers in the US. The UK firm’s investors have cut risk, but face a long wait for returns. There’s no such jeopardy for its new partner.

Starbucks serves up broken windows theory of value

29 Jan 2025

Boss Brian Niccol is starting with the small stuff to turn around the java slinger: trimming menus, nixing upcharges and so on. Making often-drab stores more inviting is a reasonable recipe to boost business. But the stock’s 38% rise since he came on is priced for a bolder brew.

Smithfield IPO gets at meat of the M&A matter

27 Jan 2025

The US pork producer would be worth $11 bln, with debt, on its mooted price range, 50% more than its Chinese owner paid in 2013. Sales growth has been slow, even as profit at a key unit doubled under WH Group. The spinoff, however sensible, speaks to the folly of many deals.

For China, Hong Kong IPOs start to look urgent

9 Jan 2025

The next wave of offerings in the city will come from mainland-listed companies, including those with global ambitions like CATL. Beijing wants to shore up the hub's status as a financial centre. Narrowing fundraising avenues in the People's Republic may make that an imperative.

Big Booze speeds towards low-growth tobacco status

7 Jan 2025

The US surgeon general wants health warnings on alcohol bottles. Declining drinking rates have already shrunk the valuations of brewers like Carlsberg to 12 times forward earnings, nearing tobacco levels. Higher-rated spirits groups like $70 bln Diageo may have further to fall.

Moutai will raise a glass to its LVMH moment

2 Jan 2025

China’s $260 bln liquor giant wants to appeal to young shoppers. A tie-up with local sportswear retailer Li Ning can be the answer. Moutai’s $25 bln cash pile and the potential target’s beaten-down valuation offer a tantalising opportunity to create a national consumer champion.

Delivery Hero investors’ meal is stuck in traffic

13 Dec 2024

Shares in the $9.5 bln online takeaway group have dipped since it sold a $2 bln stake in its Middle East unit through a Dubai IPO. CEO Niklas Östberg can now cut net debt, but many of his businesses still burn cash. A more comprehensive breakup may be the best option on the menu.