Experts note that mergers and acquisitions have become a new trend in the livestock market in Russia.
According to the latest information, the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market has been growing in the Russian livestock industry over the past 3 years. For example, in 2022 there were 10 deals worth $330 million, and in 2023 — 19 deals worth $240 million.
In 2024, there were 14 deals, and their total volume was $690 million.
For example, the most notable deals include the purchase of Agro-Belogorye assets by the Rusagro group, as well as the acquisition of Zarechny by AFG National.
The beginning of 2025 was also marked by a fairly large deal in the mergers and acquisitions market. Namely, Invest-Trade acquired Prioskolye.
Currently, experts are debating what could be the reason for such activity in the M&A market.
One of the options is that the high key rate, which the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has been keeping at 21% for several months, significantly hinders the activities of small companies, which may not have enough money even to conduct operational activities.
In such a situation, they become easy «prey» for larger players who have significant financial reserves — including for buying other companies.
Moreover, there are prerequisites for the trend of consolidation of Russian companies to gain momentum, some analysts believe.
In particular, such a trend may emerge in dairy farming. At the moment, it is a fairly fragmented market, which is mainly represented by small players.
Ultimately, consolidation of the sector through mergers and acquisitions is almost inevitable, experts suggest, when this will happen is only a matter of time.
In addition, livestock breeders are now preparing for the fact that in the near future they may have to compete with foreign businesses again.
Against the backdrop of a possible agreement with the US on the situation in Ukraine, which is being actively discussed this year, the return of such large players as, for example, CP Foods to the Russian market no longer looks unrealistic.
This poses new challenges for agricultural producers: companies may have to unite in order to increase their competitiveness, and the purchase of Russian companies by foreign holdings is not excluded.
This may also become a significant reason for the consolidation of the agricultural sector to continue in the foreseeable future, experts are sure.
