3 Hot Takeover Targets In The Food And Beverage Industry

Coca-Cola's KO announcement last week that it had acquired a $2.15 billion, 16.7 percent stake in Monster Beverage MNST pairs the biggest soda company in the world with the biggest energy drink brand in the United States.

Investor Reaction Positive

The deal, two years after the two companies almost struck a similar deal, was positively received by shareholders of both companies as well as investors who helped boost stock prices shortly after the announcement.

Related Link: Will Publix Try To Acquire Whole Foods?

Keurig Green Mountain

Coke’s latest acquisition follows the company’s initial 10 percent stake in coffee company, Keurig Green Mountain for $1.25 billion. Coke later bumped its stake up to 16 percent.

Both companies have been working together to develop a machine that will let consumers make their own Coke-branded soda.

Who’s Next?

Monster and Keurig are not the only food and beverage companies potentially ripe for investment or acquisition; Coca-Cola isn't the only major player poised to take action.

So who's next?

1. Campbell Soup CPB

Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway already owns a 50 percent share of ketchup maker, Heinz. Bloomberg suggested the Omaha Oracle might also be interested in soup maker Campbell if the price was right.

With a negative Sell rating and price target downgrade by Goldman Sachs, not to mention an Underweight designation by Morgan Stanley, Forbes made a similar suggestion as recently as July.

2. SABMiller SBMRY

Following InBev’s $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch six years ago, talk that Anheuser-Busch InBev could make a play for another major rival has been a recurring discussion point among insiders.

Most recently, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted that a number of industry analysts said they had reason to believe Anheuser-Busch was getting ready for another mega-deal. The target? SABMiller.

3. Kraft Foods KRFT

The Street's Jim Cramer named Kraft Foods on his list of seven stocks the CNBC host thought were ripe for takeover.

According to Cramer, Coca-Cola would be the most logical acquirer of the Northfield, Illinois, company that posted revenue of $18.2 billion in 2013.

Kraft shares have traded between $50 and $61 over the past year and the company has a market cap of $33.3 billion.

At the time of this writing, Jim Probasco  had no position in any mentioned securities.