Plastics Industry M&A Activity Tracking
Global Plastics M&A rebounded in June, recording 38 deals and greatly exceeding the 29 deals posted in May, suggesting that the slowdown in activity was temporary and priming the back half of the year for a strong finish. Transaction announcements from H1 2025 outpaced H1 2024 by 27 deals and tracked just behind elevated H2 2024 levels. Both strategic and financial buyers have been active year-to-date, each representing nearly 50% of total volume. Overall, deal volumes remain above historical levels in the midst of uncertainty in the macroeconomy and plastics M&A activity is carrying positive momentum heading into the second half of the year.
- The Injection Molding subsector posted the largest year-over-year increase in June, with 11 announced deals, five more than the same period last year. The subsector recorded 61 transactions in H1 2025, increasing significantly from H1 2024 and trending toward the record levels seen in 2023. Blow Molding has recorded seven transactions thus far in 2025, which is significantly above 2024 year-to-date levels but shy of historical averages
- Strategic and financial buyer participation remained evenly split in June, with strategic buyers accounting for 50% of deal flow and financial buyers comprising the other half through a near-equal mix of platform and add-on acquisitions
- Domestic M&A activity declined in June, with only 11 announced deals. In contrast, transactions involving both a foreign buyer and seller accounted for 58% of the total volume, surpassing domestic deal flow and outperforming recent averages
- The Industrial end market continues to lead plastics M&A, accounting for 24 deals, or 63% of total activity in June. This marks the fourth month in 2025 in which the sector has recorded at least 20 transactions
Sources: S&P Capital IQ, Company Websites, Pitchbook, Company Reports, PMCF
Major News
- Green PET is a Case Study on How Long Bottles Remain in Recycling Stream (Plastics News)
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/bottler-saw-green-pet-recycling-stream-long-after-phaseout - How to Navigate Plastics Supply Chain Disruptions While Meeting Sustainability Goals (PlasticsToday)
https://www.plasticstoday.com/materials/dual-paths-through-plastic-supply-chain-chaos - Powell Reaffirms Wait-and-See Posture on Rate Cuts (The Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/fed-chair-jerome-powell-congress-08eab6cd?mod=central-banking_more_article_pos21 - The U.S. Economy Pushes Through the Trade War (The Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/economy/u-s-economy-shrugs-off-trade-war-and-soldiers-on-e4d18881?mod=consumers_news_article_pos2 - EU Seeks to Unify its Packaging Rules (Plastics News)
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/eu-unify-supd-and-ppwr-broader-definition-recycling
Packaging M&A Update – February 2026
Global Packaging M&A tapered in February as 20 deals were announced in the sector, down more than 30% from prior month and prior year levels.
Plastics M&A Update – February 2026
Global Plastics M&A cooled off in February following a record-setting January with 31 transactions – down 21 from the prior month and seven from last February.
Packaging M&A Update – January 2026
Global packaging M&A maintained steady volume to open 2026 with 30 deals in January, which was in-line with historical levels for January but below the record 45 transactions announced in January 2025.
Plastics M&A Update – January 2026
52 global plastics M&A transactions were recorded in January 2026, which represented one of the most active months for plastics M&A since PMCF began tracking the sector.
Plastics M&A Update – December 2025
Global Plastics M&A posted 34 transactions in December, one deal fewer than both November and the 2025 monthly average.