Sodexo Buying Aramark Would Buck Trend of US Deals in Europe (1)

A potential $10 billion acquisition of catering firm Aramark by France’s Sodexo SA would go against the typical pattern of American companies targeting European rivals.

Over the past five years, there have been nine other proposed deals of at least that size involving a European firm as the suitor for a US company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Those transactions, which include LVMH’s acquisition of Tiffany & Co., and Novo Holdings A/S’s planned acquisition of Catalent Inc., have a total value of about $163 billion, the data shows.

That’s less than half the size of ...