A healthy appetite for cheese

Cheese Spot On

With many dairy groups realizing that M&A provides the easiest route to enter new markets and with cheap capital available to pave the way, deal activity has increased in 2019.

Oaklins’ specialist Davide Milano breaks down geographical statistics and trends in the dairy industry and, in particular, the cheese sector, where consumption continues to rise across the globe.

Dairy groups are still focused on enlarging their product portfolios and entering new markets in order to increase volumes and reach more end consumers. M&A — for example, acquisitions of local targets — remains the easiest way to do this, as timing is also a critical factor. The vast liquidity existing in the financial markets is supporting and even pushing M&A actions, as investors are seeking better returns in today’s environment of negative interest rates. As M&A specialists in the international cheese arena, we are seeing both large groups and smaller entrepreneurs who are eager to do more transactions and business combinations. DAVIDE MILANO, OAKLINS' CHEESE SPECIALIST

We interview Gilberto Cappellin, CEO and founder of Yoeggs and former CEO of EMMI Italia, to tap into knowledge gained from his years of experience in the industry. Cappellin stresses the need for a fresh look at everything from ingredients to marketing to respond to consumer demand for healthier and more convenient products. He advocates changing conventional mindsets and outlines the benefits of joining international groups that can support the development of new products and markets.

Also in this edition, we take a look at the rationale behind some of this year’s completed transactions and list the valuation multiples of selected listed players.

Talk to our cheese specialist

Davide eugenio milano 0
Davide Eugenio Milano Turin, Italy
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