M&A activity in the consumer products space is hot (PwC – see below). We see it every day on CircleUp, where the early stage consumer companies we have worked with have raised over $20 million in just 18 months. But the increased pace of consumer investing is not limited to growth equity investments of the kind we facilitate on CircleUp. According to PwC’s U.S. Retail and Consumer M&A Insights 2012 Year in Review, $91 billion in consumer and retail deals were announced during 2012 (deals >$50 million)—more than double 2011’s volume of $43 billion. The Kauffman Foundation notes that the most common method of exit for investor-backed consumer companies is a sale to a strategic acquirer, and with large CPG companies hungry for innovation and loaded with cash I expect this trend to continue.
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