M&A in 2016 Is All About Natural and Healthy

Since the most recent State of Beauty and Personal Care M&A report, the industry has experienced a slew of new deals, from the closing of P&G's transfer of brands to Coty, Puig's investment in Granado, and the Capvis-Gotha and Origami Owl-will deals, to name just a few.

Now, Mergermarket has released its latest analysis of the M&A trends from the first quarter through the third quarter of 2016. The firm, which previously found that beauty care M&A was outpacing the broader business world, has found that consumers' focus on health, organic, high-quality products has led recent acquisitions. Such is certainly the case with Puig-Granado.

Aside from natural brands, the report found that consumers are also seeking local and environm­entally sustainable products, a trend that spans lifestyle, food and beverage, and other consumer categories.

All M&A deals for the first three quarters of 2016 fell 43.3%, year-over-year, totaling 1,499 deals worth $158.3 billion. The consumer sector contributed 7.1% to global M&A value, a drop of 3% compared to the same period 2015.

The deals in the consumer space overall are dropping, with just one transaction announced above $10 billion.

Worth noting for beauty brands, the one mega deal was Danone's purchase of WhiteWave Foods, which reflected the food giant's focus on, you guessed it, natural and healthy products.