Just Food | Cautious Optimism Oozes Around Food M&A Outlook in 2024 as Risks Fester

Jan 2024

Originally posted by Just Food on December 14, 2023.

While deal activity in the food industry has slowed, businesses that passed on pricing and kept their volumes from going backward were sold. Companies that don’t need to sell, can afford to wait, or are not strong businesses were not brought to market this year.

Alex Masters, Managing Director in Lincoln’s Consumer Group, commented, “There will probably be a gradual thawing, an improvement in the first half, with more activity in the second half because a lot of that pricing inflation will have washed through, so the companies’ margins should start to get back to normal.”

If the market is receptive, mergers and acquisitions activity will come back more quickly, but if a cautious sentiment continues the market will take longer to come back, Alex said.

“I think as we go into 2024, private equity will increasingly see business performance getting better,” Alex said. “So I think there’ll be more PE buyers than there have been in 2023.”

View additional insights in the original article.