What to Watch: Dealmakers Who Refuse to Go Into Hiding

Uncertainty in business can cut two ways — it can push companies back into a protective stance or it can make them lean in.

And when it comes to the massive disruption and start and stop of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war tariffs, an unexpected number of buyers seem willing to make their move, even if the landscape is changing in uncertain ways.

Unilever agreed to shell out $1.5 billion for Dr. Squatch; E.l.f. Beauty cut a $1 billion deal for Hailey Bieber’s Rhode; Dick’s Sporting Goods agreed to swallow up Foot Locker for $2.4 billion, and Gildan Activewear cut a $2.2 billion cash and stock deal to take on HanesBrands.

Clearly, some companies are ready to go big.

KPMG’s tally found $34.7 billion worth of consumer and retail deals in the second quarter, a 194 percent increase over a year earlier, even though the number of deals dropped 14.6 percent year-over-year to 496.

“Dealmakers doubled down on wellness, digital and distressed assets — prioritizing strategic clarity over deal count as consumer and retail M&A roared back in value,” said Frank Petraglia, a partner at KPMG Advisory, in the report.

There are some new incentives driving this — KPMG pointed to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is “incentivizing greater capital deployment through an enhanced cash tax shield for new investments and the immediate expensing of R&D, exploration costs and capital expenditures — boosting ROI and freeing up funds for expansion.”

The questions headed into the fall are now around whether tariffs will disrupt the market enough to force companies back or if other players come off the sidelines to consolidate the market and grab for more.

Digesting Gildan’s deal to scoop up HanesBrands, Jay Sole, a UBS analyst, told WWD this month that: “This is not them playing defense. I think this is them playing offense. The combined company is definitely a stronger company than they were separately.”

Who else is going to come out and look to bulk up this fall for whatever comes next?