The food industry is undergoing changes as consumers have begun to place greater value on healthy and sustainable eating and drinking options. This shift from traditional consumer packaged food options to nutritious and organic alternatives is causing movement in the consumer packaged food industry. In order for food giants to penetrate this market, they can either grow organically or merge with or acquire a company already in this market. The conventional approach for analyzing M&A deals is a financial analysis. However, the examination of integration at the logistical level has proven to be a vital component to the success of M&A transactions.
From the viewpoint of Danone’s acquisition of WhiteWave Foods, this thesis provides a financial analysis that can be applied to other companies in the sector. A logistics network analysis framework is developed to determine areas of synergy ranging from raw materials to product and market synergies. Through this combination, this thesis develops and provides a methodology for analyzing horizontal integrations in the food industry.
