IJW & Co., Ltd.

Our November North American Consumer Monthly Market Report is here! Whether you’re strategizing for growth, evaluating investments, or simply staying informed, this report delivers key data from the consumer market. The report highlights the recent acquisition of Genuine Tea by Goodfood Market (TSX:FOOD), where IJW & Co., Ltd. represented played a key advisory role. This transaction marked a significant milestone in the food and beverage industry, reflecting the dynamic shifts and growth opportunities within the consumer market. Key Highlights: ✅ Top consumer transactions ✅ Food & beverage market update ✅ Goodfood’s acquisition of Genuine Tea ✅ North American monthly deal volume & capital invested ✅ North American yearly M&A deal volume & capital invested ✅ Median EBITDA multiples by subsector ✅ Public market indexes For more details on November activity in the technology sector and to view our latest monthly report, please visit: https://ijw.ca/insights/  #report #monthly #consumer #consumerreport #insight

In this week’s Bi-Weekly M&A Consumer Market Update, we explore North American consumer confidence and notable consumer M&A transactions over the past 2 weeks. From November 19th to December 2nd, U.S. consumer sentiment rose to 74, its highest level since April. This uptick comes despite inflation climbing to 2.6% in the U.S. and 2.0% in Canada as of October. Economists warn of potential inflationary pressures from Trump’s proposed tariff policies, yet durable goods purchasing conditions are at their strongest since April 2021. In Canada, the BoC announced another 50 bps cut to the key interest rate to 3.25%. Despite the unemployment rate reaching an eight-year high (excluding the pandemic) at 6.8%, Canadian retail sales are expected to increase 2.2% year-over-year this holiday season, demonstrating signs of economic recovery. Consumer sector deal activity softened in November, with 248 transactions marking a six-month low. However, $28.7B in capital was invested, representing a significant ~80% increase from October. Walmart finalized its $2.3B acquisition of Vizio, a TV designer with a digital advertising arm. This deal will add over 19 million active accounts to Walmart Connect, enhancing its advertising platform. With access to valuable insights and analytics of user viewing habits, advertisers with Walmart Connect can benefit from creating more personalized ads on streaming services, strengthening its competitive edge against industry advertising giants such as Google and Roku. Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast company was acquired by Wonder Media Network (WMN), a female-founded creative studio, with clients such as Nike and Pfizer which air inspirational podcasts. Lastly, Feast & Fettle acquired WECO Hospitality, uniting two of America’s fastest-growing meal delivery companies to expand their reach and growth. The deal accelerates Feast & Fettle’s East Coast expansion to continue as a leader in the premium prepared meal market while maintaining its commitment to quality and care. Sarina Gill #consumer #update #mergersandacquisitions #northamerica

Your December 6 bi-weekly M&A technology update is here! To start the week, Intel Corporation CEO Pat Gelsinger resigned from his post after the board lost confidence in his proposed turnaround plan and its ineffectiveness in ‘saving’ Intel from its troubles. The company’s stock rose ~4% at the news, although it has lost ~55% of its value this year. Looking at some of the prominent deals in recent weeks, Nuvei was taken private by Novacap, Advent International limited , EDC Investments Limited, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), and Philip Fayer (Founder & CEO of Nuvei) in a $6.3B transaction supported by $3.25B in debt financing. Nuvei is a Canadian fintech leader that went public through an IPO in September 2020. Novacap and CDPQ are previous investors in the business. Comcast announced that it would spin off its cable television networks, such as CNBC and MSNBC. The move aims to separate declining cable networks from the company’s faster-growing entertainment businesses, including Universal International Studios and NBC News Broadcast Network. Given the changing economic and political landscape due to Trump's election, there will likely be an uptick in media and telecommunication deal activity. Other examples of deal activity in the space include Charter Communications acquiring Liberty Global and Bell Canada announcing its acquisition of Ziply Fiber. Liberty Broadband’s shareholders will receive 0.236 Charter shares per Liberty share, whereas the Ziply Fiber transaction is valued at ~C$5.0B. Lastly, Bain Capital, Reverence Capital Partners, and other investors took Envestnet, Inc private through a $4.5B LBO. Envestnet is a wealth technology platform that manages over $6.5T in assets and expects the transaction to accelerate growth, helping it build on its industry-leading position. The chart highlights North American technology M&A activity for the last six months. Oct is the clear outlier and includes joint venture deals involving KKR and Equinix in separate deals worth $50B and $15B, respectively. Deal flow in Nov showed a temporary slowdown in the lead up to the U.S. election. Aitsam Chaudhary #update #market #technology #mergersandacquisition

The October North American Consumer Monthly Market Report is now live! Whether you're a business leader, investor, or simply someone passionate about the consumer products landscape, our latest consumer report offers insights to navigate today's competitive market. Key Highlights: ✅ Top consumer transactions ✅ North American monthly deal volume & capital invested ✅ North American yearly M&A deal volume & capital invested ✅ Median EBITDA multiples by subsector ✅ Public market indexes For more details on October activity in the technology sector and to view our latest monthly report, please visit: https://ijw.ca/insights/ #report #monthly #consumer #consumerreport #insight

Your Weekly Consumer M&A Update: The Impact of Food Inflation & Notable Transactions In this week’s Consumer M&A update, we will review the impact of food inflation in Canada and highlight several notable transactions across North America from the past two weeks. Canada is experiencing widespread labor strikes, including postal workers walking out as the holiday season approaches. The primary driver being that food inflation is currently outpacing wage growth, grocery prices have increased 20% over three years, while wages have only increased by 12%. Labor workers are pushing for significant wage increases as essentials like food and housing remain unaffordable despite easing overall inflation. This highlights the gap between optimistic economic reports and the reality that many Canadians are facing. However, recent activity in the consumer sector showed a slight recovery, with 85 deals completed and $4B of publicly disclosed capital invested. In the U.S., General Mills (Food Products) (NYSE: GIS) acquired Whitebridge Pet Brands' Tiki Pets and the Cloud Star portfolio for $1.5B, which also includes two manufacturing facilities in the USA. Tiki Pets and Cloud Star are premium North American pet food brands intended for cats and dogs. General Mills stated that this acquisition will drive its broader accelerated growth strategy, which emphasizes key core markets and global platforms, as well as further complement its existing portfolio. Additionally, Grubhub, one of the leading food delivery services in the US, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Wonder for ~$650M. Wonder operates a cloud kitchen platform that is intended to provide high-profile chef recipes to customers, referred to as the “new kind of food hall”. The acquisition marks Wonder's next step in its mission to make great food more accessible, combining the convenience, speed, and variety of first-party and third-party restaurants, groceries, and meal kits within a single app. Lastly, Pepsico reached a definitive agreement to acquire the remaining 50% of the company Sabra Dipping, a popular Middle Eastern-style food product brand, for ~$241M. This acquisition enhances PepsiCo's portfolio, enabling continued innovation and the development of new products to meet the evolving demands of North American consumers. 📈 The chart below reflects bi-weekly deal count and capital invested over the past 26 weeks. Madison Colpitts #consumer #update #food #inflation

Your October Software & Technology Monthly Market Report is here! Stay ahead of the curve with our latest technology report covering the latest insights into the trends reshaping the technology landscape. Key Highlights: ✅ Top technology transactions ✅ North American quarterly deal volume & capital invested ✅ Median SaaS vs all-tech revenue multiples For more details on October activity in the technology sector and to view our latest monthly report, please visit: https://ijw.ca/insights/ #report #monthly #tech #technology #insight

The IJW team had another great year exhibiting at SAAS NORTH Conference! As always, it was a great opportunity for founders, investors and industry leaders to come together and learn from one another. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth to catch up, connect and learn how we add value for SaaS businesses through strategic growth, mergers and acquisitions, and expert advisory services. We’re already looking forward to next year’s conference 🙌 Giancarlo Petroro William Robinson Sami Kabir, CFA, MBA #SAASNORTH2024 #techconference #tech #exhibitor #techevents

Okay - So I'm kind of a LinkedIn newbie - but this feels like the most appropriate place to post a big life event like this: Genuine Tea - our Company and our first baby - has officially been acquired by Goodfood Market (TSX:FOOD) and we couldn't be more excited! This is not the end for us, au contraire, it is the beginning of a brand new chapter for Genuine Tea. We first dreamed up Genuine Tea while we were living in Taiwan doing our MBAs, studying Chinese and visiting tea farms. Taiwan's slogan is 'Touch Your Heart' and after nearly five formative years there, it truly did. We owe a tremendous gratitude to Taiwan and the Taiwan Scholarship Program and to both National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology and National Sun Yat-Sen University. Once the proverbial seed was planted, we set off on whirlwind adventures across Asia visiting over a dozen countries, learning from different cultures, appreciating different cultures and meeting tea farmers. One thing we always say about Tea is that every culture has its own tea ritual, but one thing is true - Tea Brings People Together. We hiked up to remote tea houses, spent countless hours riding motorcycles, clung to the sides of trains and woke up in huts surrounded by beautiful green tea fields. We moved back to Toronto without a penny and started selling tea at local farmer's markets and, in 2015, Genuine Tea went from a seed, to a tiny little sprout. You can see our First Ever Day here - https://lnkd.in/gSDt7TqC We made $80 in revenue. After costs, we probably didn't make a penny. But it didn't matter, with time, dedication, hard work and each other Sarah Wilcox and I knew we had started a new adventure - one very few of us ever take - as Entrepreneurs. In 2018, we were expecting our first child, Jacob. We were at a crossroads. We lived in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment and weren't exactly crushing it... Get jobs, or carry on?? We decided to throw a hail mary and auditioned for Dragons' Den Canada on CBC . Two Weeks after Jacob was born, we went on the show. You can see our pitch here: https://lnkd.in/g4CqawCz We were young and exhausted, having been up all night with a newborn. We got four offers from the Dragons and partnered with Arlene Dickinson and District Ventures Capital We survived a pandemic, won dozens of awards and grew our Farmer's Market Tea Company across Canada. We couldn't have done this on our own. I'd like to thank Sarah's parents for helping with the boys. Our production team and marketing teams for hustling. Arlene Dickinson for taking a chance on us. IJW & Co., Ltd. especially Sami Kabir, CFA, MBA for fighting for us and introducing us to Goodfood Market (TSX:FOOD) And finally Thank You to the Goodfood Market (TSX:FOOD) team - Neil Cuggy Jonathan Ferrari Simon Brown and Roslane Aouameur Thank You for seeing our Vision. Looking forward to The Partnership and scaling to new heights! Let's Go 🚀

Bi-Weekly M&A Technology Update: Key news stories and transactions that occurred last week across North America The U.S. government awarded a $6.6 billion subsidy to @TSMC to expand its chip production in Arizona, aiming to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing. By increasing investment and building a new facility, TSMC will help boost U.S. chip supply, reducing reliance on imports and supporting industries like tech and automotive that depend on advanced semiconductors. Q4 developments continue to indicate a rebound in tech M&A, with companies leveraging strong cash reserves to pursue acquisitions. Investor confidence is gaining strength in high-growth sectors such as AI, semiconductors, and cloud computing. Instructure was acquired by Dragoneer Investment Group and KKR for $4.8 billion in a take-private transaction. The deal is expected to support Instructure’s global expansion and growth plans, with a focus on its Canvas and Instructure Learning Ecosystem platforms. The company aims to leverage KKR’s resources to reach their aggressive revenue target of $1 billion by 2028 while continuing its efforts to expand its technology ecosystem. Thoughtworks was acquired by APAX PARTNERS LLP for $1.75 billion in another take-private transaction. The acquisition allows ThoughtWorks, a key partner to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud, to focus on delivering digital transformation services and expanding its global presence. The chart below illustrates North American Technology M&A activity and total capital invested over the past 26 weeks (bi-weekly). After an extremely strong October, month-to-date activity in Nov is slightly down, primarily driven by the election. Brontë Macfarlane #update #market #technology #mergersandacquisition

We're thrilled to announce that Préval Ag acquired a significant stake in AquaVerti Farms, an industry leader in the Agritech and Vertical Farming space! Aquaverti, known for its innovation and technology, is based in Montreal, Quebec and produces and supplies retailers and food service distributors with products such as salad mixes, fresh herbs and specialty products throughout Québec and Eastern Canada. “With new capital and resources from Preval and their team, we believe this partnership will further accelerate our growth, improve food security and take the company to the next level!” - Georges Aczam, CEO, Aquaverti Farms “We are excited about the prospects that Aquaverti brings to our business and are committed to bringing Aquaverti into the future.” - Fabien Fontaine, Founder and President, Preval AG The urban farming space has continued to be an important component of the sustainable farming movement and with a strategic investment in Aquaverti, Preval AG is committed to being a market leader in the space. Congratulations to Aquaverti and Preval AG, we look forward to seeing your combined success! We'd also like to congratulate the deal team at IJW, Ian Wooden, CBV, MRICS, William Robinson and Aitsam Chaudhary. #acquisition #pressrelease #farming #investment #urbanfarming