Supplier M&A Activity Increases Again in 2018

The amount of supplier deals continues to increase. This year we've already reported on nearly 40 supplier deals--slightly more than 2017's tally [see WSD 12-18-2017]--that resulted in new ownership, minority investments and strategic partnerships. In 2017, the number of wine deals compared to the number of spirits deals were tied. But in 2018, we saw a few more wine deals than spirits. By our count, the majority of the deals were full acquisitions/majority investments with a handful of minority investments