Brandtree

Consolidation over time

Of the 330 brands the ten largest owners on Brandtree hold today, 69 (21%) came to them from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 65 of them since 2000. For 225 (68%), when they arrived is not recorded.

These figures count only what Brandtree can date. Most filings that prove who owns a brand today do not say since when: of the 10,267 current controlling-ownership records for the 10,547 brands on Brandtree, 2,501 (24%) have a start date and 7,766 do not. Earlier owners are recorded for some brands only, and records before about 2010 are thinner. So this page does not estimate how concentrated ownership was in past years; a brand with no start date cannot honestly be placed with its owner, or without it, in any earlier year. Each section says how much of the data it rests on. A date recorded only to the year is counted in that year. Statistics about this dataset, not the whole market, as of . All statistics.

Brands that changed ultimate owner, by year

Brandtree dates 508 changes of ultimate owner across 492 brands, the most in 2025 (50). A change counts when a dated ownership record follows an earlier owner in a different group, when a completed deal closed on the date the record starts, or when the company holding the brand was bought on a recorded date. A move inside one group is not a change. Spin-offs are shown separately, because they split ownership up rather than concentrate it.

Coverage: 7,766 of 10,267 current controlling-ownership records have no start date, so any change those brands went through is missing here. A further 74 changes are known to have happened but cannot be placed in a year, and 161 brands sit under a holding company whose own start of control is not recorded. None of these is counted in the table. Years before 2000 are grouped because few are recorded. Year counts reflect how much history has been added as well as how many brands moved, so a rise between years is not by itself evidence of more consolidation.

Dated changes of ultimate owner per year
YearChangesChanges, as a barBought or mergedSpun offNo deal recorded
1966–1999 42 grouped 39 3 0
2000 9 9 0 0
2001 10 10 0 0
2002 5 5 0 0
2003 0 0 0 0
2004 6 6 0 0
2005 14 14 0 0
2006 8 8 0 0
2007 10 10 0 0
2008 22 21 0 1
2009 5 5 0 0
2010 7 7 0 0
2011 19 19 0 0
2012 13 11 0 2
2013 17 16 0 1
2014 19 19 0 0
2015 20 20 0 0
2016 36 29 2 5
2017 28 27 0 1
2018 29 29 0 0
2019 20 14 2 4
2020 17 15 0 2
2021 22 22 0 0
2022 20 10 8 2
2023 28 8 18 2
2024 13 11 0 2
2025 50 31 14 5
2026 (to Nov 2026) 19 18 0 1
Total dated5084334728

Most recent dated changes

How today's ten largest owners came to hold their brands

For each brand the ten largest owners on Brandtree hold today, when and how it came under that owner. "From an earlier owner" needs evidence: an earlier owner outside the group, a completed deal on the date, or the dated purchase of the company that holds the brand. "Started with them" means the holding begins in the brand's founding year with no earlier owner. A dated start with neither is shown on its own rather than guessed.

Coverage: 330 brands; 105 (32%) have a recorded arrival date and 225 do not. "Not dated" does not mean the owner founded the brand, or bought it long ago: the record simply does not say. The founding case is rarely recorded as its own dated holding, so "Started with them" undercounts brands the owners created.

Current brands of the ten largest owners, by how they arrived
OwnerBrands todayFrom an earlier owner, datedof which since 2000Started with themDated start, route not recordedNot dated
Unilever 53 21 21 0 0 32
Mars 42 20 20 0 2 20
Procter & Gamble 38 4 4 0 2 32
Nestlé 32 1 0 0 10 21
TFG 32 0 0 0 15 17
Heineken 29 4 4 0 0 25
PepsiCo 29 8 8 0 1 20
Mondelēz 28 1 1 0 2 25
Coca-Cola 24 9 6 0 0 15
Diageo 23 1 1 0 4 18
All ten3306965036225

When the dated arrivals happened

The 69 brands above that came from an earlier owner on a recorded date, by decade. The 225 undated brands could belong to any decade, so this shows when recorded purchases happened, not when the portfolios were built.

Dated arrivals by decade
DecadeBrandsAs a bar
1980s1
1990s3
2000s23
2010s25
2020s17

Completed deals recorded per year

Brandtree records 305 completed deals, 302 of them involving at least one brand with a page here. This is a count of deals in this dataset, not of all deals in consumer industries: Brandtree adds a deal when it changes the owner of a brand it tracks, and older deals are recorded less often.

Coverage: every completed deal has a closing date, so all 305 are counted. 14 further deals were announced, blocked or abandoned and are left out.

Completed deals per year
Year closedDealsAs a bar
1966–199935grouped
20007
20014
20025
20030
20045
20056
20068
20077
200811
20095
20105
201111
201210
201313
201411
201515
201617
201722
201815
201910
202013
202117
20229
202311
20249
20259
2026 (to Nov 2026)15

All deals →

How the largest owners in each category got there

For the three largest owners in each category, the brands in that category that came to them from an earlier owner on a recorded date, most recent first, against those with no recorded arrival. Categories with fewer than 40 brands or 10 owners are left out, as on the main statistics page.

Retail (157 brands)

  • TFG: 32 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 17 not dated, 15 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Truworths: 15 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 7 not dated, 8 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Pepkor: 11 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 8 not dated, 3 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

Coverage: 26 of these 58 brands (45%) have a recorded arrival date.

Telecom (58 brands)

  • Telkom Indonesia: 7 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 7 not dated.

  • Digi: 5 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 4 not dated, 1 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Maroc Telecom: 5 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 2 not dated, 3 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

Coverage: 4 of these 17 brands (24%) have a recorded arrival date.

Pet & animal care (175 brands)

  • Zoetis: 17 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 16 not dated, 1 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Elanco: 15 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 12 not dated, 3 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Phibro: 14 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 8 not dated, 6 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

Coverage: 10 of these 46 brands (22%) have a recorded arrival date.

Tobacco & nicotine (169 brands)

  • Imperial Brands: 20 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 12 not dated, 8 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Scandinavian Tobacco Group: 13 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 11 not dated, 2 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • British American Tobacco: 11 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 5 not dated, 6 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

Coverage: 16 of these 44 brands (36%) have a recorded arrival date.

Healthcare & pharma (132 brands)

  • Sandoz: 14 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 4 not dated, 10 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Sonic Healthcare: 9 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 5 not dated, 4 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • IDEXX: 8 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 8 not dated.

Coverage: 14 of these 31 brands (45%) have a recorded arrival date.

Technology (75 brands)

  • Atari: 6 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 2 not dated, 4 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Globant: 6 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 1 not dated, 5 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Daikin: 5 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 3 not dated, 2 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

Coverage: 11 of these 17 brands (65%) have a recorded arrival date.

Restaurants & foodservice (178 brands)

  • Gulf Hotels Group: 19 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 19 not dated.

  • Jollibee Group: 12 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 4 not dated, 8 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Spur Corporation: 9 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 5 not dated, 4 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

Coverage: 12 of these 40 brands (30%) have a recorded arrival date.

Automotive (170 brands)

  • Bajaj Auto: 14 brands, 1 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 13 not dated.

    GASGAS 2025 from Bajaj Mobility

  • Hero MotoCorp: 12 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 12 not dated.

  • Stellantis: 11 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 7 not dated, 4 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

Coverage: 5 of these 37 brands (14%) have a recorded arrival date.

Consumer health (135 brands)

  • Krka: 8 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 8 not dated.

  • Okamoto Industries: 7 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 7 not dated.

  • Reckitt: 7 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 4 not dated, 3 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

Coverage: 3 of these 22 brands (14%) have a recorded arrival date.

Personal care & beauty (647 brands)

Coverage: 35 of these 78 brands (45%) have a recorded arrival date.

Finance & insurance (223 brands)

  • Credicorp: 8 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 7 not dated, 1 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • OTP Bank: 8 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 7 not dated, 1 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Grupo Cibest: 7 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 6 not dated, 1 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

Coverage: 3 of these 23 brands (13%) have a recorded arrival date.

Media & entertainment (433 brands)

Coverage: 10 of these 39 brands (26%) have a recorded arrival date.

Home care (421 brands)

  • F.I.L.A.: 15 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 2 not dated, 13 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Arçelik: 13 brands, 2 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 3 not dated, 8 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

    Hotpoint 2024 from Whirlpool (deal); Indesit 2024 from Whirlpool (deal)

  • Procter & Gamble: 11 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 11 not dated.

Coverage: 23 of these 39 brands (59%) have a recorded arrival date.

Apparel, footwear & accessories (605 brands)

Coverage: 20 of these 42 brands (48%) have a recorded arrival date.

Beverages (1,326 brands)

Coverage: 17 of these 75 brands (23%) have a recorded arrival date.

Home, garden & DIY (768 brands)

  • Cencosud: 16 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 3 not dated, 13 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Corporación Favorita: 16 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 12 not dated, 4 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • JD Sports: 15 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 4 not dated, 11 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

Coverage: 28 of these 47 brands (60%) have a recorded arrival date.

Internet & digital (681 brands)

  • Baidu: 14 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 13 not dated, 1 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Alibaba: 13 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 10 not dated, 3 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Alphabet: 13 brands, 4 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 7 not dated, 2 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

    Fitbit 2021 (deal); Google Nest 2014 (deal); Waze 2013 (deal); YouTube 2006 (deal)

Coverage: 10 of these 40 brands (25%) have a recorded arrival date.

Energy (324 brands)

  • Fortis: 8 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 1 not dated, 7 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Ecopetrol: 6 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 6 not dated.

  • Energy Transfer: 6 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 6 not dated.

Coverage: 7 of these 20 brands (35%) have a recorded arrival date.

Food (2,233 brands)

Coverage: 32 of these 80 brands (40%) have a recorded arrival date.

Travel & transport (1,301 brands)

  • Vail Resorts: 23 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 2 not dated, 21 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • H World: 21 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 0 not dated, 21 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

  • Lufthansa Group: 13 brands, 0 from an earlier owner on a recorded date, 9 not dated, 4 dated without a recorded earlier owner.

Coverage: 46 of these 57 brands (81%) have a recorded arrival date.

Method: a change is dated only from the start date on an ownership record, never from a record without one. Where a brand moved because its parent company was bought, the purchase date is used only when the brand was already held by that company on a dated record, or the deal names the brand. Quote figures freely under CC BY 4.0, keeping "on Brandtree", or the equivalent, and the coverage with the number. For the stories behind the numbers, read the consolidation explainers.