Two weeks ago, I wrote an article in Money and Markets talking about Bud's surge on takeover rumors. And I pointed out that InBev's rumored buyout price of $65 a share meant there was still plenty of upside ahead. Since then, BUD stock has climbed to $61 a share, good for another 5% profit. Not too shabby given the broad market's performance over the same period. There are still some hurdles to the deal -- inlcuding a strong backlash from U.S. beer fans -- so this may be as far as the shares go for a while. Still, it's nice to see a solid dividend stock tacking on a little capital apprecation in a flagging market.

Recently, I've been highlighting a number of consumer staples deals, including the Wrigley (WWY) purchase and takeover rumors surrounding Anheuser-Busch (BUD).Today, we got yet another M&A announcement ... this time from Smucker (SJM). The company will be buying the Folgers coffee business from Procter & Gamble (PG) in a transaction worth about $3 billion. PG shareholders will end up with a significant stake in SJM. In addition, before the transaction is completed, SJM will send out a $5-per-share special dividend to its investors. I expect to see more deal activity in this space. The big players are looking for growth and economies of scale by snapping up smaller players and individual product lines.Meanwhile, income investors who own these stable, profitable businesses are happily collecting dividend checks year in and year out.