Q3 2026

Food & Consumer M&A Update

In Q3, the S&P Food & Beverage Select Industry Index decreased by 5.4% and was outperformed by a 2.0% increase in the S&P 500 over the same period.
The median EV/EBITDA multiple for reported private equity deals in the Food & Consumer sector decreased to 10.4x in YTD Q3 2026 from 10.8x in 2025, but increased for strategic buyers to 12.3x from 8.5x in 2025.
M&A deal volume in the sector decreased 8.1% in Q3 to 421 deals from 458 deals in Q2, and decreased 3.4% from 436 deals in Q3 of the prior year.
Europe was the most active region in Q3 with 171 deals. Most notably in Europe was Danone’s $1.15 billion acquisition of Huel, an English provider of nutritionally complete food products.
Total capital invested in M&A transactions decreased 42.0% in Q3 to $27.1B from $46.7B in Q2 as the mix shifted to smaller deals. In Q2, Sysco acquired Restaurant Depot for $29.1 billion while the largest reported deal in Q3 was Henkel’s $1.7 billion acquisition of Olaplex.