Cross-border acquisitions in the global food sector

Cross-border acquisitions constitute the main form of foreign direct investment in the world economy, the focus of this paper being to consider the determinants of the location and growth of cross-border acquisitions in the global food sector. The data relates to over 2,000 international acquisitions in the food sector from 45 source to 46 host countries. The results highlight the importance of market size, relative costs and stock market growth as important determinants. We also report differences involving acquisitions in food processing and retailing and higher and lower/middle income countries. Results involving acquisitions in European countries are also highlighted.