Record-breaking year confirms financial payback of strong brands, even if counsel don’t get the credit they deserve

Heinz’s $41.3 billion acquisition of the Kraft Foods portfolio has been identified as a record-setting brand-based transaction, dwarfing the previous biggest acquisition, Procter & Gamble’s $25.5 billion takeover of Gillette in 2005. Analysis of the most expensive brands that changed hands in 2015 further suggests that big ticket, brand-backed deals could be back after a post-recession lull.