KANSAS CITY, MO. — While M&A activity in the pet nutrition space has slowed, consumers’ dedication to their pets continues to make the industry an attractive space, as evidenced by the 28 mergers and acquisitions announced throughout all corners of the industry. From manufacturers to equipment and ingredient suppliers to retailers and more, companies are seeking to capitalize on the significant opportunities the pet food industry offers. 

Read on for our recap of mergers and acquisitions in the pet nutrition industry from January to June 2024. 

Manufacturers

Beginning the year with a bang, Pet MD Brands, a subsidiary of Swedencare, acquired Riley’s for $7.5 million. Riley’s specializes in premium dog treats and nutritional supplements. Through the acquisition, Swedencare will enter the organic pet treat market in North America. 

Belgian United Petfood signed a share purchase agreement on Jan. 16 to acquire Vital Petfood Group (VPG), a Danish pet food manufacturer that specializes in dry and semi-moist pet foods. The acquisition includes a plant in the Nordics, which is set to support United Petfood’s growth strategy targeting the Nordics.

On Jan. 19, Targeted Petcare (TPC) announced its acquisition of Pet Brands, a pet treat business. The transaction expands TPC’s pet treat portfolio and enhances its sourcing, design and packaging capabilities. Pet Brands specializes in private-label and branded dog and cat treats in various natural categories, including jerky, soft chews, dental chews, purees and premium bone treats.

To further its position in the Nordic pet nutrition market, VAFO Group acquired Dagsmark Petfood, a Finnish producer of wet dog and cat food products, at the end of January. According to VAFO Group, the addition of Dagsmark Petfood complements its current offerings in the Finnish pet food marketplace and expands its wet pet food production capabilities.

Later in May, VAFO acquired Allco Tiernahrung, a family-owned German manufacturer of high-quality pet foods. According to VAFO, the acquisition aligns with its aim to steadily expand its market share. The company aims to transform its values into a more unified image and target German pet owners, offering them more pet nutrition solutions, and Allco’s offerings will build upon this. Allco will become a subsidiary of VAFO and will operate under the new name: VAFO.de. 

The Petfood Company GmbH was acquired by German meat marketer Westfleisch, building upon its partnership with the meat supplier. The acquisition is expected to build upon Westfleisch’s existing pet food product range and expand its value chain. With the completion of the acquisition, Westfleisch now operates 10 facilities throughout northwest Germany.

Following a partnership to create a supplement for pets with obesity and related health problems, Better Choice Company announced its acquisition of Aimia Pet Healthco Inc. on Feb. 9. Through the acquisition, Better Choice will internally manage clinical trials related to the development and testing of the supplement. 

On April 9, Alvar Pet, a Finnish direct-to-consumer (DTC) pet food brand, acquired online retail platform Verkkokauppa Kivuton (Kivuton). In acquiring Kivuton, Alvar Pet will expand its mission of offering pet parents a wide range of veterinarian-developed pet products and nutrition by creating the “largest online store focused on pet health in the Nordics,” according to the company. 

German premium pet food producer The Nutriment Company and Scottish raw dog food maker Totally Natural Pet Products (TNPP) entered a binding agreement in which The Nutriment Company acquired TNPP for an undisclosed amount. According to The Nutriment Company, the acquisition represents a strategic expansion of its premium, natural pet food portfolio. The deal is also expected to bolster the brand’s presence in Central Europe.

At the end of April, General Mills acquired Edgard & Cooper, a Kortrijk, Belgium-based premium pet food brand, as part of its Accelerate strategy. According to General Mills, Edgard & Cooper is poised for continued growth across the 13 European markets it serves. Under General Mills’ ownership, Edgard & Cooper Founders Koen Bostoen, Louis Chalabi and Jürgen Degrande will continue to lead the business, which will operate as an independent unit with financial results listed under General Mills’ International division.

Natural Chew and treat manufacturer Buck Bone Organics was acquired by private equity firm Borgman Capital, marking its first investment in the pet industry. Buck Bone Founders Jackie, Mark and Shane Steigleman will partner with those at Borgman Capital to drive the company’s next phase of growth.

English pet food manufacturer Pets Choice Ltd. agreed to acquire Vet’s Kitchen from parent company Pets’ Kitchen, effective June 1. Pets Choice will integrate Vet’s Kitchen’s suite of dry dog and cat food brands, including Webbox, Bob Martin, Felight, TastyBone and B-Calm, into its own portfolio, which is expected to enhance Pet Choice’s presence in the premium and advance nutrition sectors of the UK pet food market. 

On June 24, Petbuddy Group (PBG), a European consortium of super-premium pet food brands, announced its acquisition of Thrive Pet Foods. PBG plans to use its distribution network in the United Kingdom and the Nordics to launch Thrive’s products into new markets. The company will leverage synergies in its sales, distribution and production capabilities to ensure Thrive’s market penetration and sustained growth.

European pet food co-manufacturer Partner in Pet Food (PPF) announced that private equity CVC Capital Partners IX has acquired majority share in the company. According to PPF, the move aims to accelerate its business, as well as its expansion in the European market. CVC purchased majority stake from PPF’s existing investor Cinven, which will continue to hold a minority stake in the company.

Suppliers

ADM shared its plans to acquire PT Trouw Nutrition Indonesia, a subsidiary of Nutreco and leading provider of functional and nutritional solutions for livestock farming in Indonesia, early in the year. The acquisition includes two premix facilities, strengthening ADM’s premix and feed additives and ingredients (FA&I) business. 

After months of continued offers, JBT Corp. made a final, increased offer to acquire Marel on Jan. 19. JBT planned to launch a voluntary takeover offer during the first quarter of 2024 to acquire all shares of Marel, combining the companies into JBT Marel Corp. The deal is still ongoing, with JBT expecting to close it later this year. 

At the end of January, Darling Ingredients completed its acquisition of Polish rendering company Miropasz Group for about $118.1 million. The transaction, which was originally announced in November 2022, expands Darling’s ingredient offerings to include fats and other byproducts for use in animal feed and pet food.

Following their announcement in Dec. 2022, Novozymes and Chr. Hansen completed their merger, creating a Novonesis. Through the merger, the companies have created an entity that has 10,000 employees, a global network of research and development and application centers, and activity in 30 industries. Novozymes supplied its enzymes and microbial technologies and Chr. Hansen offered its capabilities in ingredient systems for food, pet food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries.

Robotics manufacturer ATLINE ApS was acquired by Indutrade, an international technology group, in February. ATLINE specializes in automating and enhancing quality assurance processes in manufacturing. According to the company, its annual sales hover around $5.76 million. 

On Feb. 7, Bioriginal Food & Science Corp shared its acquisition of POS (Proteins, Oils and Starches) Biosciences Corp. The move provides Bioriginal with access to POS’s oil processing, concentration and distillation infrastructure, as well as R&D services, allowing it to produce value-added ingredients for the human and pet nutrition markets.

ProMach completed its acquisition of Zanichelli Meccanica S.p.A., known better as Zacmi, an Italian producer of filling, seaming and pasteurization systems in February. The deal extends ProMach’s portfolio and reinforces its position in the packaging equipment market, especially for filling and sterilization solutions serving food and pet food producers. Zacmi and its team were assimilated into ProMach’s Primary Packaging business.

Toward the end of February, Duravant LLC acquired Ferdinand Henneken GmbH (Henneken), a leading manufacturer of protein processing solutions. Henneken’s products and services, which includes vacuum tumblers, tenderizers, injectors and brine mixers for meat, poultry, and seafood processors, complement Duravant’s capabilities to offer full-line and integrated equipment solutions.

Flexible packaging supplier ProAmpac bolstered its capabilities in recycled kraft paper solutions through the acquisition of UP Paper. According to ProAmpac, the addition of UP Paper offers it the ability to create more environmentally friendly, flexible packaging solutions. The combined companies are leveraging each other’s capabilities to provide flexible fiber- and film-based solutions to a variety of industries.

On May 2, ingredient supplier Blue Sky Nutrition LLC acquired Maltwerks’ Food & Feed division, which merchandises premium grain ingredients to manufacturers in the food and animal feed industries. The acquisition, which closed mid-April, will allow Blue Sky Nutrition to bolster its offerings for the pet food, feed, food and supplement markets.

Camlin Fine Sciences Limited’s (CFS) wholly owned subsidiary Dresen Quimica SAPI De CV, Mexico (CFS Mexico) entered a share purchase agreement to acquire Vitafor on June 11. Vitafor's feed ingredients, nutritional products, hygiene products and disinfectants will expand CFS’s portfolio across various animal segments and will strengthen the company’s expertise in its Animal Nutrition business to include more shelf-life enhancement, feed safety and animal performance solutions, according to the company.

Packaging supplier Sonoco Products Company acquired Eviosys on June 24 for approximately $3.9 billion. According to Sonoco, the acquisition of Eviosys accelerates its strategy to scale its core metal packaging business. The company plans to fold Eviosys’ metal packaging capabilities into its metal can business, becoming the leading global metal food can and aerosol packaging manufacturer, according to the company.

Retailers/Programs

Woolworths Holdings Limited announced plans to acquire nearly all (93.45%) of Absolute Pets Ltd, a South African pet care retailer, from company management and former owner Sanlam Private Equity in January. According to Woolworths, the acquisition of Absolute Pets provides it with a well-established, complementary market presence and strong management.

In January, Where Food Comes From, Inc., (WFCF) a company that owns and operates third-party verification services, acquired the Upcycled Certified program from the Upcycled Food Association (UFA). The acquisition will enable WFCF to meet growing consumer demand for products that contain upcycled food ingredients as the company plans to further advance the Upcycled Certified program.

Keep your finger on the pulse of M&A activity in the pet nutrition space here. Missed these M&A announcements? Sign up for our Operations newsletter to never miss an M&A update.