Industry Updates

Packaging M&A Update – March 2022

Packaging Industry M&A Activity Tracking

Global Packaging M&A rebounded after a slow month in February, posting 29 transactions in the month of March which was an increase of 11 transactions month-over-month. The increase in transaction activity could be attributed primarily to financial buyers, which accounted for 17 deals in March, after only accounting for 6 deals in February. 2022 packaging M&A activity has not met the levels seen through the first quarter of 2021, however, transaction activity remains strong and March closings validated this viewpoint.

Private equity add-on transactions contributed to high levels of deal volumes in March, accounting for 14 deals or 48% of the transaction volume
Strategic buyer activity has remained constant through the first quarter of 2022, posting 12 deals in both February and March and 11 deals in January
Paper packaging, which typically leads all packaging subsectors, accounted for 11 deals in the month which represented a 6 deal increase month-over-month
Other packaging transactions which include specialty packaging, machinery, and distribution deals, accounted for 21% of the transaction volume in the month and increased by 5 transactions over February levels
Consumer and Medical end-markets contributed 11 deals on the month, which was an increase of 7 deals month-over-month, and have posted 23 deals through the year-to-date

The Global Packaging M&A market experienced high levels of transactions through the first quarter of 2022 and looks poised to build on a strong March. Favorable market conditions that led to a record year in M&A in 2021 have continued with packaging buyers and sellers remaining highly active in 2022. If you are a packaging company considering a merger, acquisition, sale or recapitalization in the short or longer term, please consider leveraging PMCF’s transaction planning and execution expertise to best position your company in a transaction.