Traditional Consumer and Retail Companies Increasingly Look to Adjacent M&A Deals to Find Growth

For consumer product and retail companies, 2017 offered more of the steady M&A activity that has characterized the market for the last several years. While deal value dropped from 2016 highs, this will likely be short lived.

Based on interviews with C-level retail executives, three-quarters of whom reported that they’re using M&A to help their companies acquire new capabilities, expand their product portfolios, access new customers, or increase their geographic reach, the market is characterized by optimism from those at the top. For example, 71 percent of respondents reported that M&A is creating value, up from 48 percent last year.