In 2010, McDonald’s was worth $80 billion in market capitalization. Given that what would you think Burger King is worth at the time? Maybe half? $40 billion? or $30 billion? The answer was less than $4 billion, and 3G acquired the company by putting up just $1 billion of equity. In this blog, we review this classic private equity deal and seek to answer the question: Under what conditions is private equity capital a “blessing,” and when does it turn into a “curse” for consumer-facing brands?

In a gold rush, sell shovels. But who says you can’t still dig for gold yourself as you sell the shovels? This is a story of how Mixue— the largest bubble tea chain in the world, with more stores than McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Subway— went from selling 1 yuan (about 14 cents) ice cream cones to a blockbuster IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Deals can be like dominoes—you won’t tip the first one unless you trust the others will fall into place. Over the past few years, that trust has been hard to come by. High-profile deals kept hitting regulatory walls, and buyers became wary of even stepping to the table. Could Tempur Sealy’s win over the FTC signal the start of a new M&A environment?

Public Markets vs. Private Markets. Luxury Retail vs. Off-Price Retail. Financial Sponsor vs. Strategic Partner. With Nordstrom going private, these topics are at the epicenter of this story.

When the stakes involve iconic brands and competing visions for the future… There are always barbarians at the gate.

Amidst all the macroeconomic uncertainty following Trump’s election, there is one thing that will never change— my love for grocery shopping. And Blackstone knows.

Feeling tired? Yup. Have a cup of coffee? Maybe. What about an energy drink? Perhaps. Actually, why not both? Keurig Dr. Pepper to acquire a majority stake in GHOST for $990 million.

If you're anything like me, window shopping is the closest I get to the luxury retail experience. But with this deal, luxury shopping might be getting even easier.

Nike CEO steps down. What happened, and what's next for Nike and retail? Revisiting Donahoe’s CEO tenure through Nike’s acquisition of RTFKT.

M&M's meet Pringles. Snickers embrace Pringles. Willy Wonka Craves Sodium. What future do the snack aisles hold for us after the largest deal of the year?

Is Sam Walton the King of Retail? What parallels does Walmart's acquisition of VIZIO have with Walton's business strategies from the very beginning?

Consumer cuts back on home improvement spending in an era of high mortgage rates and a weakening housing market. The Home Depot shifts its focus away from these amateurs and doubles down on the Pros.

Luxury lens embraces the streets. But will investors embrace the deal?

Gone are the days when we could feast on whatever we wanted. The new age of consumer retail lies in "Better For You."