Plastics Industry M&A Activity Tracking
Global Plastics M&A recorded its second most active month of the year in July, tallying 39 deals and falling three deals shy of elevated activity seen in January. This volume represented an eight-deal increase from prior month activity and a 13-deal, or 50% increase, over July 2023 levels. The uptick in activity was driven by increased demand from strategic buyers who represented more than half of the deal volume and accounted for 21 deals, a month-over-month increase of eight transactions for this buyer group. Meanwhile, financial buyers remained active, matching June volumes. Overall, July marked a strong start to the second half of the year for Global Plastics M&A.
- After a sluggish first half of the year, the Injection Molding subsector rebounded in July. The subsector logged 14 deals, an increase of 75% relative to the 2024 monthly average
- Strategic buyers led all buyer groups in activity, accounting for 21 deals, or 54% of the volume. This represented a four-deal increase over the average strategic buyer volume observed in 2023 and a 62% increase over June levels
- Financial buyers matched prior month activity, posting 18 deals. After experiencing a record month in June, platform acquisitions returned to historical levels and tallied seven deals in the month. Meanwhile, add-on transactions more than doubled June activity and posted double-digit volume for the third time this year
- Foreign M&A activity saw an uptick in July, accounting for 26 deals in July, or 67% of the monthly activity. On the year, Foreign deals have accounted for 49% of the transaction activity
- All end markets matched prior month activity or saw an uptick in transaction volume in July. No end market experienced more than a three-deal increase, while the Medical end market was the sole end market to remain flat with June levels
Sources: S&P Capital IQ, Company Websites, Pitchbook, Company Reports, PMCF
Major News
- Silgan Holdings to Buy 3i-Backed Weener Plastics in $908 Million Deal (The Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/silgan-holdings-to-buy-3i-backed-weener-plastics-in-908-million-deal-c41a7ec6 - A Fight Over the Future of Recycling Brews as Plastics Legislation Gains Traction (The Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-fight-over-the-future-of-recycling-brews-as-plastics-legislation-gains-traction-a30be3a4 - The White House Has a Plan to Slash Plastic Use in the U.S. (The New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/19/climate/biden-administration-single-use-plastic-reduction.html - Housing Market Still Under Stress, Constraining Growth for Plastics (Plastics News)
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/plastics-growth-constrained-stressed-housing-market - Plastics M&A Market Battles High Interest Rates (Plastics News)
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/plastics-mergers-and-acquisitions-market-battles-high-interest-rates - Costco Switches Rotisserie Chicken Container to Flexible Packaging (Plastics News)
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/costo-chicken-switches-rigid-flexible-packaging
Download Plastics M&A Update – July 2024
Packaging M&A Update – May 2026
Global Packaging M&A activity slowed slightly in May, with 27 deals announced. While this reflected only a one-deal decrease compared to April, activity rebounded meaningfully from May 2025, with ten more transactions announced.
Plastics M&A Update – May 2026
Global Plastics M&A recorded 36 transactions in May, increasing by five deals from April and seven from May 2025, bringing year-to-date volume to 188 transactions.
Packaging M&A Update – April 2026
Global Packaging M&A activity remained stable in April, with 28 deals announced, one fewer than April 2025 and slightly above March levels. Through the first four months of 2026, 105 deals have been announced, a 27-deal decrease from the prior-year period.
Plastics M&A Update – April 2026
Global Plastics M&A recorded 31 transactions in April, moderating from March levels but bringing year-to-date volume to 152 deals, up 12 transactions from the prior-year period and 29 deals above the trailing three-year average through April.
Plastics M&A Update – March 2026
Global Plastics M&A experienced recorded 38 transactions in March, representing an uptick of seven deals from the prior month and five deals from last March.