Consumer and retail M&A in New York moves on brand fundamentals and buyer conviction. This list covers 10 firms active in CPG, apparel, food, and retail deals in 2026 - with deal sizes and sector focus.
Why consumer deals need a specialist
Consumer and retail advisors know which strategic buyers are actively acquiring and which are in portfolio pruning mode. That timing knowledge changes which buyers you approach and when.
Brand valuation in consumer M&A hinges on factors most financial advisors overlook - channel mix, DTC penetration, private label exposure, and velocity data at major retailers.
Buyers in this sector move fast when conviction is high. You need an advisor with relationships at the PE firms and strategic CPG buyers who are actually deploying capital in 2026.
Ellty lets you build a virtual data room before advisor outreach. Upload P&L by channel, brand health data, and retailer agreements, then share with each buyer as they progress through your process.
| Deal Type | Deal Size | Sector Focus | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solomon Partners | Both | $50M-$2B+ | Consumer retail, food and beverage, personal care, e-commerce | solomonpartners.com |
| Houlihan Lokey | Both | $50M-$5B+ | Consumer, food, retail, restaurants, personal care | hl.com |
| Jefferies | Both | $100M-$10B+ | Consumer, retail, food and beverage, apparel, beauty | jefferies.com |
| Lazard | Both | $250M-$50B+ | Consumer brands, retail, cross-border CPG M&A | lazard.com |
| Kroll | Both | $20M-$500M | Consumer, food, restaurants, retail, personal care | kroll.com |
| Harris Williams | Sell-side | $50M-$500M | Consumer, food and beverage, retail, business services | harriswilliams.com |
| William Blair | Both | $50M-$2B+ | Consumer brands, food, specialty retail, wellness | williamblair.com |
| EY-Parthenon | Both | $50M-$5B+ | Consumer products, retail, CPG, apparel, food | ey.com |
| Capstone Partners | Both | $10M-$500M | Consumer brands, food and beverage, specialty retail | capstonepartners.com |
| Lincoln International | Both | $50M-$1B+ | Consumer, retail, food, personal care, health and wellness | lincolninternational.com |
How consumer brand valuation works in M&A
Consumer brands don't trade on EBITDA multiples alone. Buyers pay for velocity, brand health scores, channel distribution quality, and gross margin trajectory - not just last year's revenue.
A brand doing $30M in DTC sales with strong repeat purchase rates will command a different multiple than one doing the same revenue through a single mass retailer with declining shelf space.
Your advisor needs to build a brand value narrative alongside the financial model. That means pulling Nielsen or Circana data, retailer scorecards, and customer cohort analysis into the CIM.
Ellty lets you share market research data and brand health files in a secure data room. Track which buyers download your retailer velocity reports - that tells you who is doing real homework.
Read the due diligence process guide before your first advisor call. Consumer buyers look at inventory, SKU rationalization, and supplier concentration before they look at your projections.
Build your consumer M&A data room
Organize brand data, retailer files, and financials for strategic buyers.
Start free 14-day trialWhat an M&A deal looks like: 6 stages
Consumer deals move in six to nine months for well-prepared sellers. Retail seasonality often determines go-to-market timing - most processes launch in Q1 or Q3 to avoid holiday noise.
| What happens | What you need ready | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Preparation | Valuation, advisor selection, CIM drafting | 3 years financials, SKU data, retailer scorecards |
| 2. Advisor engagement | Engagement letter signed, process timeline set | Engagement letter, brand assets, channel P&L |
| 3. Marketing | Teaser and CIM sent to strategic and PE buyers | Ellty data room with gated document access ready |
| 4. LOI | Buyers submit bids, advisor selects shortlist | Management presentation, updated forecasts |
| 5. Due diligence | Buyer reviews retailer contracts, IP, financials | Full data room: supplier agreements, IP, HR, leases |
| 6. Close | Purchase agreement signed, funds transferred | Board approvals, brand transfer, escrow setup |
10 New York consumer and retail M&A advisors in 2026
These firms are active across consumer brands, CPG, food and beverage, apparel, beauty, and specialty retail in New York in 2026.
1. Solomon Partners
Solomon Partners publishes an annual consumer and retail M&A outlook that is one of the most detailed sector reports available to sellers and buyers in the New York market.
Recent Deals: Published "Trends Impacting Consumer and Retail M&A: 2026 Annual Outlook" tracking active buyers and sector trends. Advises on consumer, food and beverage, and personal care transactions across deal sizes.
LinkedIn: Solomon Partners on LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Consumer retail, food and beverage, personal care, e-commerce, beauty
Deal Type: Both
Deal Size: $50M-$2B+
Location: New York, NY (1345 Avenue of the Americas)
Website: solomonpartners.com
2. Houlihan Lokey
Houlihan Lokey's consumer group covers food, retail, restaurants, and personal care with a dedicated team that tracks buyer appetite across PE and strategic acquirers in real time.
Recent Deals: Advised Sycamore Partners on multiple retail transactions in 2025. Ranked #1 globally for M&A advisory by deal count in 2025 across consumer and other sectors.
LinkedIn: Houlihan Lokey on LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Consumer, food and beverage, retail, restaurants, personal care, e-commerce
Deal Type: Both
Deal Size: $50M-$5B+
Location: New York, NY (multiple US and global offices)
Website: hl.com
3. Jefferies
Jefferies covers consumer, retail, food and beverage, apparel, and beauty with a full-service team that handles both M&A advisory and capital markets mandates for consumer companies.
Recent Deals: Active in consumer brand and retail M&A through 2025-2026. Advised on PE-backed consumer exits and strategic brand acquisitions in the New York market.
LinkedIn: Jefferies on LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Consumer, retail, food and beverage, apparel, beauty, health and wellness
Deal Type: Both
Deal Size: $100M-$10B+
Location: New York, NY (global headquarters)
Website: jefferies.com
4. Lazard
Lazard brings cross-border reach to consumer and retail M&A that few advisors can match. For sellers who need European, Asian, or Latin American strategic buyers in the room, Lazard opens doors.
Recent Deals: Active in cross-border consumer brand advisory and retail M&A in 2025-2026. Advises on strategic reviews, divestitures, and brand acquisitions for large CPG companies.
LinkedIn: Lazard on LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Consumer brands, retail, cross-border CPG M&A, personal care, food
Deal Type: Both
Deal Size: $250M-$50B+
Location: New York, NY (global headquarters)
Website: lazard.com
5. Kroll
Kroll's consumer, food, restaurant, and retail investment banking team is among the most active middle-market advisors in New York, covering sell-side, buy-side, and capital raising across the sector.
Recent Deals: Active in consumer and food M&A advisory through 2025-2026. Covers emerging brand acquisitions, sponsor-backed exits, and restaurant platform builds.
LinkedIn: Kroll on LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Consumer, food, restaurants, retail, personal care, health and wellness
Deal Type: Both
Deal Size: $20M-$500M
Location: New York, NY (multiple US offices)
Website: kroll.com
6. Harris Williams
Harris Williams runs a focused sell-side consumer practice with PE sponsor relationships that most generalist advisors don't replicate - particularly for food, beverage, and consumer services exits.
Recent Deals: Active in food and beverage and consumer services sell-side advisory through 2025-2026. Regularly advises on sponsor-backed exits and platform dispositions in the consumer sector.
LinkedIn: Harris Williams on LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Consumer, food and beverage, retail, business services, health and wellness
Deal Type: Sell-side
Deal Size: $50M-$500M
Location: New York, NY (also Richmond, Charlotte, San Francisco)
Website: harriswilliams.com
Build your consumer M&A data room
Organize brand data, retailer files, and financials for strategic buyers.
Start free 14-day trial7. William Blair
William Blair is a growth-company specialist with deep consumer and specialty retail expertise. Its team tracks health and wellness, functional food, and DTC brands that attract premium multiples.
Recent Deals: Active in consumer brand and food M&A advisory through 2025-2026. Covers health and wellness, specialty food, and omnichannel retail transactions across the middle market.
LinkedIn: William Blair on LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Consumer brands, food and beverage, specialty retail, wellness, DTC
Deal Type: Both
Deal Size: $50M-$2B+
Location: New York, NY (also Chicago and other US offices)
Website: williamblair.com
8. EY-Parthenon
EY-Parthenon's consumer products and retail investment banking team has completed 200+ consumer transactions and combines M&A advisory with strategic and operational diligence capabilities.
Recent Deals: Active in consumer and retail M&A advisory through 2025-2026. Advises on brand divestitures, carve-outs, and acquisitions for large CPG and retail clients globally.
LinkedIn: EY-Parthenon on LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Consumer products, retail, CPG, apparel, food and beverage, restaurants
Deal Type: Both
Deal Size: $50M-$5B+
Location: New York, NY (multiple US and global offices)
Website: ey.com
9. Capstone Partners
Capstone Partners publishes an annual consumer M&A report that is one of the most comprehensive buyer and deal-tracking resources available to founders and PE sponsors in the sector.
Recent Deals: Published Annual Consumer M&A Report in 2025. Active in consumer brand, food and beverage, and specialty retail advisory through 2025-2026 across the middle market.
LinkedIn: Capstone Partners on LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Consumer brands, food and beverage, specialty retail, health and wellness
Deal Type: Both
Deal Size: $10M-$500M
Location: New York, NY (national presence with multiple offices)
Website: capstonepartners.com
10. Lincoln International
Lincoln International covers consumer, retail, food, personal care, and health and wellness with a dedicated global team that has strong PE sponsor relationships across the middle market.
Recent Deals: Active in consumer and retail M&A through 2025-2026. Part of the global team that completed 957 M&A transactions from 2020-2025 across sectors including consumer.
LinkedIn: Lincoln International on LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Consumer, retail, food and beverage, personal care, health and wellness
Deal Type: Both
Deal Size: $50M-$1B+
Location: New York, NY (global offices including Chicago, London, Frankfurt)
Website: lincolninternational.com
Omnichannel and DTC factors in consumer M&A
Strategic buyers in 2026 pay a premium for omnichannel brands. A brand with $20M in DTC sales, strong retail velocity, and a growing subscription base is more attractive than one with $50M in a single mass channel.
Buyers scrutinize digital advertising efficiency before they look at EBITDA. Customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, and contribution margin by channel all factor into what buyers will pay.
Your advisor should frame your DTC data clearly in the CIM. Buyers need to see cohort retention, repeat purchase rates, and channel P&L - not just aggregate revenue numbers.
Ellty's granular permissions let you share your DTC dashboard and customer cohort data securely. Control which buyers see your most sensitive channel data and track every file open.
Review your merger vs acquisition structure options before your first advisor meeting. Consumer deals often involve brand licensing, earnout provisions, or partial sales that affect which advisors have the right experience.
Carve-outs and divestitures in consumer retail
Large CPG companies are divesting non-core brands faster in 2026 than at any point in the past five years. If you're managing a carve-out or spinoff, your advisor needs to know how to structure the separation alongside the transaction.
Carve-out diligence is more complex than a clean sale. Buyers need to understand transition service agreements, shared infrastructure costs, and what the brand's cost structure looks like on a standalone basis.
Getting your carve-out data organized before advisor engagement saves weeks during diligence. Buyers expect a fully loaded P&L and standalone cost bridge before submitting a final bid.
Ellty makes it easy to organize carve-out documents in one secure file sharing workspace. Upload transition service agreements, separation plans, and standalone financials - then share each section as buyer access levels progress.
Read the sell-side due diligence guide before going to market. Consumer carve-outs have specific documentation requirements that generalist advisors often underestimate.
What PE buyers look for in consumer brands
PE firms buying consumer brands in 2026 focus on three things: margin expansion opportunity, distribution white space, and category tailwinds. If your brand doesn't have at least two of the three, you won't see competitive bids.
Health and wellness, functional food, and premium pet categories attract the most PE interest in 2026. Brands in these segments with clean operations and repeatable growth attract multiple bidders.
PE buyers will model your brand at a larger scale with operational improvements. Your advisor should run a QoE before go-to-market to surface any issues a PE firm's operational team will find during diligence.
Ellty helps you manage all your QoE documents and financial models in a virtual data room before buyer outreach. Sharing a pre-QoE pack with your advisor shows buyers you've done the work and compresses timelines.
Review the due diligence for private equity guide before engaging PE buyers. Understanding PE diligence frameworks helps you anticipate their questions and prepare your data room more effectively.
How Ellty helps you close a consumer M&A deal in New York
Your advisor shortlist is set. Open a data room before your first call.
- 1.Upload brand and financial docs to a secure roomAdd retailer data, channel P&L, and agreements now.
- 2.Set access rights for each buyer or advisorControl who sees brand data vs financial records.
- 3.Track who reviews what and follow up fasterSee document opens and find your most serious buyers.
Common questions about New York consumer and retail M&A advisors
- Most cover CPG, food and beverage, apparel, beauty, or specialty retail. Match the firm to your brand's category and deal size.
- Advisors use EBITDA multiples adjusted for channel mix, velocity, and margins. DTC and health brands command the highest premiums in 2026.
- Expect six to nine months. Seasonal timing matters - most processes launch in Q1 or Q3 to avoid retail holiday disruption.
- Retailer velocity data, channel P&L, and customer cohort reports come first. Prepare these before advisor engagement.
- Yes. Firms like EY-Parthenon, Lazard, and Jefferies have dedicated carve-out teams with large CPG divestiture experience.
