Food sector sees mergers, acquisitions

There has been a lot of business activity recently in the food and beverage industry, as well as in organized food retail, with the conditions appearing to be ripe for the completion of corporate mergers and acquisitions.

At the center of possible acquisitions – if there are no surprises from somewhere else during the year – is fish farming market leader Avramar, with creditor banks intending to complete the process in the summer, although this is a scenario that is not considered to be very likely.

In the previous two years inflation slightly blurred the picture regarding the real performance of the companies, as in 2022 there was a compression of profits due to increased costs, while in 2023 there were in several cases greatly enhanced profits due to price increases and reduced cost. Now the easing of price hikes is expected to contribute to clearer valuations of companies investors target.

At the same time, it can mitigate the demands of would-be sellers. Investment funds, Greek and foreign, as well as holding companies that have food at the center of their activities, are playing a decisive role either as buyers or sellers, due to their specific life cycle.