Food & Beverages

Post serves unappetizing $1.5 bln breakfast combo

19 September 2017

The Grape-Nuts-to-Weetabix maker has ordered up a side of sausage and home fries by agreeing to buy Bob Evans. Post shares have been on a roll, but it's paying a hefty 15 times EBITDA, before trimming any fat. An estimated return of 5 pct is no way to start an investor's day.

Asian bid for Pret A Manger won’t cut the mustard

18 September 2017

Filipino fast-food joint Jollibee is eyeing the fancy sandwich chain, says Reuters, potentially uniting Chickenjoy buckets and posh ploughman’s baguettes. But a mooted price of more than $1 bln looks far too downmarket. It might need to double that to derail Pret’s IPO plans.

Blue Bottle gives Nestlé little more than a buzz

14 September 2017

The Swiss food giant is buying control of the hipster coffee chain at a high-octane $700 mln valuation. It's a premium upgrade for the Nescafé maker, which is also offloading its U.S. candy arm. It may prove challenging, though, for such a niche brand to jolt the bottom line.

Chinese web grocer’s IPO requires a strong stomach

14 September 2017

Food giant COFCO wants to raise up to $600 mln floating an online supermarket. Sales are growing as web shoppers splurge on fresh produce. But the group is investing heavily in logistics. Throw in a costly price war with Alibaba and others, and investor appetite may be lacking.

JBS takes shareholders on zany rollercoaster ride

11 September 2017

The scandal-plagued Brazilian meatpacker raised a much-needed $1 bln by selling a poultry business to Pilgrim’s Pride. That gave investors a bit of a high after the low provided by the unraveling of the controlling family’s corruption plea deal. More stomach-churning lies ahead.

Carrefour’s ills demand Tesco-like revamp and more

31 August 2017

The French supermarket said full-year operating profit could fall 12 percent, partly due to stiff competition at home. The grocer’s new CEO faces even more challenges than Tesco’s Dave Lewis did three years ago. Domestic market share is shrinking and its online offering is weak.

Consumer giants’ disclosure is near sell-by date

25 August 2017

Firms that make food and personal-care products are pouring money into startups and young brands. Unilever, the most acquisitive, has made 15 such deals since 2014. Yet they don’t give investors enough information to judge their dealmaking nous. It could be their loss.

WPP underestimates pinch from corporate austerity

23 August 2017

The ad group cut its 2017 net sales guidance, blaming lower spending by consumer-goods giants which make up about a third of revenue. Boss Martin Sorrell reckons this will reverse. The danger is that zero-based budgeting and shareholder activism make frugality the new normal.

McDonald’s ain’t loving the local Indian recipe

22 August 2017

The U.S. burger chain is taking the nuclear option, shutting 169 stores as a spat with a partner boils over. It's one reason McDonald's has fallen behind rivals in a huge potential market. Partnerships are always vulnerable but India's byzantine legal system raises the stakes.

Unilever can butter up price for margarine unit

18 August 2017

Private equity consortiums are reported to be circling the Anglo-Dutch giant’s spreads business. A bidding war and the rich price paid for Reckitt’s food brands may help Unilever pocket more money. But unappetising returns await any buyer who pays more than 7 billion pounds.

Danone can stomach new activist investor

15 August 2017

Hedge fund Corvex’s reported stake in the yoghurt maker may be small, but it puts pressure on management to meet its new margin target. Danone was once shielded from a Pepsi bid by the French state. If new investors bring good ideas and discipline, such defences won’t be needed.

Blue Apron cooks up insipid post-IPO stew

10 August 2017

In its first results since its market debut, the meal-kit company delivered slower revenue growth and a bigger loss. Operational challenges and mounting competition are costing Blue Apron customers. Even after an Amazon-sparked 40 pct selloff, it's surprising investors can digest any of this gruel.

McDonald’s boldly supersizes its China strategy

9 August 2017

The burger chain will nearly double its mainland presence in five years, aided by new partners CITIC and Carlyle. McDonald’s is considerably smaller than market leader Yum. So breakneck growth makes sense – provided it can avoid slip-ups on food safety and quality control.

Cox: Japanese beer could use some home-brew

7 August 2017

Sapporo just acquired San Francisco's Anchor Steam, a godfather of American craft ale. Kirin already bought a stake in Brooklyn while Asahi took over Peroni and Grolsch. All three are profit laggards. Overseas shopping diverts from a more pressing matter: consolidation in Japan.

New Mondelez CEO’s honeymoon may be short

2 August 2017

The $66 bln snack purveyor named Irene Rosenfeld’s replacement, reaching outside its ranks for frozen-food executive Dirk Van de Put. It’s an orderly succession others would do well to emulate, but the new boss may still walk into an M&A fight.

Fancy fast food makers eye China’s dining upgrade

1 August 2017

Changing consumer appetites in the world's largest fast food market are attracting attention from premium brands like Shake Shack – possibly at the expense of incumbents like McDonald's. The opportunity looks tasty, but competition and quality control could give them heartburn.

Nestlé is behind in consumer goods bake-off

27 July 2017

In a slow sales environment, global food giants need a new growth recipe. Danone and Unilever are both buying higher-growth companies and using fashionable cost cutting philosophies to improve profitability. Bigger rival Nestlé is trying too, but less convincingly.

Ceconomy plays to German retail stereotype

26 July 2017

As befits a country known for thrifty shoppers, the newly listed electronics retailer has bought cheaply into Fnac Darty. While Ceconomy could probably afford a big premium to take over its French rival, it will take just a 24 pct stake – enough to keep rival bidders at bay.

Chipotle’s yuck overwhelms financial yum

25 July 2017

The $10 bln burrito chain delivered healthy financial results that exceeded expectations. It won't be enough to restore confidence, however, after a new suspected norovirus outbreak and video surfaced of rodents at one location. More radical change at the top may be necessary.

B&M is unimaginative punt on Brexit Britain

24 July 2017

The discount retailer has been named as a potential 4.4 bln pound target for Wal-Mart’s Asda. With incomes tightening, UK shoppers will want cheaper goods. Yet Asda could as easily soup up its existing offering or copy rivals Tesco and Sainsbury’s with a more ambitious deal.