Consolidation and Expansion In The Food Industry:
A Look at Merger & Acquisition Activity
Past, Present and Future
A Food Institute Webinar March 11, 2010 (Recorded)
Featured Speakers:
Moderated by:
Thus far in 2010, merger and acquisition activity in the food industry
has been extremely vigorous. There have been over 2,500 divestitures involving
the food industry over the past decade. Following tepid activity last
year due to economic conditions, many analysts see an increase in activity
this year and beyond as companies look to expand through acquisitions
as well as economizing operations through consolidation. And of course,
how the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission view such deals
will play an integral role. This webinar reviewed recent activity in M & As, which The Food Institute has been tracking since 1928. You will also learn how companies are evaluated in this process and what makes them appealing to sell and to buy. Moderating the panel of experts is Brian Todd, President of The Food Institute. Joining him on the panel are Greg Pearlman of BMO Capital Markets and David W. Schoeder of The Food Partners. Karen G. Bokat, an antitrust lawyer and Consulting Counsel with Wiley Rein LLP, who looked at developments from a legal perspective, explaining how the government looks at mergers in the industry, and why they may or may not be looked on in a positive light.
About Karen G. Bokat Karen G. Bokat is an antitrust lawyer and Consulting Counsel with Wiley Rein. Her practice focuses on antitrust and intellectual property law. Ms. Bokat has counseled PBMs, health insurers and biotech companies, as well as companies in other industries including chemicals, cement manufacturing, and jewelry distribution. She has successfully guided clients through government merger investigations and convinced the agency to approve the mergers after abbreviated investigations. She practiced antitrust law with the Federal Trade Commission for twenty-nine years, most recently as Senior Litigator. About David W. Schoeder David W. Schoeder is Principal and Founder of The Food Partners (TFP), a preeminent investment banking firm to the food industry. Mr. Schoeder has 29 years of investment banking experience within the food industry specializing in acquisitions, divestitures, debt restructuring, private placement, and strategic advisory services. He is also a leading national expert on capitalization and governance issues relating to cooperatives and private companies. Prior to founding TFP, Mr. Schoeder served as managing director at both KPMG Retail Ventures and the Cooperative Funding Corp., the investment banking affiliate of National Cooperative Bank. Prior to the Cooperative Funding Corporation, he served as the assistant treasurer of Farm Credit Banks of St. Paul, a $12 billion lending institution serving the agribusinesses sector. Mr. Schoeder is a frequent speaker for grocery industry events including the Food Marketing Institute and National Grocers Association. He serves on the board of a number of private companies and is on the board of Food For All. About Greg Pearlman
About Brian Todd Brian Todd became President of the Food Institute in 2002 and has worked for this 82-year-old organization since 1980. Mr. Todd oversees the day to day operations of the Elmwood Park, NJ-based association which disseminates industry information through its weekly report, daily e-mail updates, seminars and webinars, reaching over 60,000 industry professionals. Mr. Todd graduated from Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ in 1980 with a B.A. in Political Science and serves on the New Jersey Food Alliance of Rutgers' Food Policy Institute. About The Food Partners The Food Partners (TFP), headquartered in Washington DC, is the nation's preeminent investment banking firm to the food industry. TFP provides merger, acquisition and divestiture services, private placements of debt and equity capital, financial restructuring, strategic advisory and loan portfolio services. Clients represent all segments of the food chain and include input, processing, manufacturing, distribution and retail companies as well as the most prominent capital sources to the food industry. TFP's principals serve clients from the Washington DC office and across the nation.
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Greg
Pearlman is Managing Director & Head, Food & Consumer Group, BMO Capital
Markets. Mr. Pearlman is a veteran investment banker, with 23 years of
extensive deal experience in Mergers & Acquisitions, as well as equity
and fixed income underwriting. He was most recently with Bank of America
Securities, and was previously a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley.
Mr. Pearlman holds an MM in Finance and Management Policy from the Kellogg
Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.A. in
Economics from the University of Michigan.