Multibillion dollar transactions drive US retail, consumer deals during Q1
Total deal value and volume surges, according to PwC US
U.S. retail and consumer merger and acquisition activity during the first quarter of 2013 was defined by six multibillion dollar transactions and alternative deal structures employed to achieve strategic objectives, according to New York-based PwC’s U.S. retail and consumer deals insights Q1 2013 report.
For the three-month period ending March 31, there were a total of 27 deals in the retail and consumer sector with disclosed values greater than $50 million, accounting for $39.8 billion in deal value, according to the report. Deal volume increased 59 percent from the 17 deals during the first quarter of 2012, while deal value rose 590 percent from $5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2012, it states. Deal value was driven by the purchase of Fremont, Ohio-based HJ Heinz by Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and New York-based 3G Capital Partners Ltd. for a total value of $28 billion including the assumption of approximately $4.5 billion of debt, it states. Excluding the Heinz transaction, total deal value for the quarter was still more than double that of the prior year’s first quarter, it adds.