More Retailers Will Seek Mergers in 2018: AT Kearney

Global management and consulting firm A.T. Kearney (Chicago) released a report reviewing the growing trend of mergers and acquisitions in recent years, called the “2018 Consumer and Retail M&A Report: Can M&A Reignite Growth in Consumer and Retail?”

The report highlights that interest from C-suite retail executives in using mergers and acquisitions to expand their companies’ capabilities and product portfolios was answered affirmatively at 71 percent, a 23-percent increase from the previous year. The study cites record amounts of cash reserves as a sign of increasing worldwide merger and acquisition deals on the horizon.

A.T. Kearney Partner Bob Haas commented on the data, “Much of the wait-and-see climate we saw in 2017 that has characterized mergers and acquisitions globally has dissipated.” He also noted that rising interest rates will cause U.S. companies to act quickly to make “innovative acquisitions to stay relevant.”

Some of those forthcoming deals, the study notes, are likely to take shape with both legacy brands and industry adjacent companies, continuing trends seen in the past couple years.