Packaging Acquisitions in 2024

Cedo, a UK-based leader in sustainable FMCG private label solutions, has acquired Plasta Group, one of Europe’s largest polyethylene recyclers and producers, headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania. The acquisition expands Cedo’s recycling and production capacity across Central & Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, strengthening its position as an integrated circularity platform for flexible plastic films.

Seaman Paper, a family-owned global paper and packaging company, has acquired Julius Glatz GmbH (including subsidiaries PaperTec GmbH and Glatz TransTec GmbH) to strengthen its specialty paper and converting capabilities. The acquisition preserves the Glatz brand and its roughly 240 employees at the Neidenfels, Rhineland-Palatinate operations and is intended to expand Seaman Paper's technological capabilities and presence in Germany and broader European markets.

Veritiv Operating Company has acquired Arjay Company, including substantially all assets of PPE Sales, LLC, expanding Veritiv’s packaging distribution footprint into Long Island and the Greater Metropolitan New York area. The acquisition strengthens Veritiv’s geographic reach and complements its national packaging, JanSan, print and logistics platform.

Granite Creek Capital Partners provided growth capital to support a management-led buyout of Seedbox Solution, with co-investments from Everside Capital Partners and Hidden River Strategic Capital. The financing positions Seedbox to expand its seed-box wash/repair and rental services, accelerate 'smart box' technology deployment, and the firm named Peter Lehman and Jim Zimmer to the company's board.

Gerresheimer has acquired Blitz LuxCo Sarl, the holding company of the Bormioli Pharma Group, from funds advised by Triton and co-investors. Bormioli is a leading producer of pharmaceutical primary packaging (glass and plastic), with ~1,400 employees and ~EUR 370 million sales in 2023; the acquisition expands Gerresheimer's pharma packaging capabilities and product portfolio.

Veritiv Operating Company has completed the acquisition of Orora Packaging Solutions (OPS), the North American packaging and distribution business of Orora. The deal brings nearly 3,000 OPS employees and expands Veritiv's specialty packaging, design-to-delivery and distribution capabilities across North America.

Arkema finalized the acquisition on December 2, 2024 of Dow's flexible packaging laminating adhesives business for an enterprise value of US$150 million. The business (around US$250 million in annual sales, ~280 employees, five production sites across Italy, the United States and Mexico) will be integrated into Arkema's adhesive platform (Bostik) to expand its flexible packaging product offering and capture cost and development synergies.

Atlas Tapes S.A. has acquired PPM Industries S.p.A., an Italian manufacturer of masking and specialty adhesive tapes, from private equity firm AUCTUS following a roughly three-year investment period. PPM, headquartered in Brembate di Sopra, Italy, generated over €100 million in revenue and operates production sites in Italy, the UK and India; Atlas Tapes (Athens) will integrate PPM to expand its international scale and product offering.

Digital Color Concepts (DCC) has acquired TigerPress, a folding carton and commercial print manufacturer based in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. The add-on expands DCC's manufacturing capacity and Northeast footprint following a growth investment from Sherburne Partners; the deal closed November 20, 2024. Terms were not disclosed.

Coregistics, a portfolio company of Red Arts Capital, has acquired Belvika Trade & Packaging Ltd., a Mississauga-based contract packaging and supply chain services provider. The transaction, sold by Fulcrum Capital Partners, expands Coregistics' scale and capabilities in primary and secondary packaging across North America.

Labelink, a Montreal-based North American packaging-printing manufacturer, has acquired International Label & Printing Co., Inc. (IL&P), a Chicago-based printing converter. The acquisition expands Labelink's U.S. footprint and brings IL&P's legacy labeling and converting capabilities into the Labelink USA platform to better serve consumer packaging customers.

Veritiv has acquired all assets of PAX Global, a US-based packaging solutions provider with approximately $45 million in annual revenue. The deal adds folding carton and film converting capabilities, enhances Veritiv's design and international sourcing, and brings PAX Global's customers in the personal care, food, and pharmaceutical sectors into Veritiv's network.

Aterian Investment Partners (through an affiliate) has acquired Outlook Group, LLC, a Neenah, Wisconsin-based provider of pressure-sensitive labels and turnkey packaging solutions, from Heartwood Partners II, LP and affiliated entities. Outlook operates two Wisconsin locations with approximately 260 employees and serves food & beverage, consumer staples and healthcare customers; Aterian plans to support organic growth and M&A to expand the business.

PackEdge, Inc. (Hamden, Connecticut) has acquired Fluted Partition, a specialized unit of Valley Container, to expand its custom and protective packaging capabilities. The acquisition brings Fluted Partition's manufacturing team into PackEdge and supports planned investments in technology and equipment to enhance production efficiency and sustainable packaging offerings.

STOK, a portfolio company of A&M Capital Europe (AMCE), has entered into a binding agreement to acquire BEWI's trading business ("BEWI Food"), a leading distributor of food packaging in Norway and Iceland. The deal is STOK's first add-on since AMCE's April 2024 investment and is intended to create a leading packaging distributor across Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Greenland, with combined pro forma sales of ~€190m in 2024.

Foundation Investment Partners (FIP) has completed the acquisition of American Spool & Packaging, Inc. (Amspak), a Hartsville, South Carolina-based specialty paper packaging manufacturer. The Ridgeway family is exiting the business while FIP will keep operations in place with industry veteran David Partin serving as CEO to support growth and reinvestment in the company.

Silgan Holdings Inc. completed its acquisition of Weener Plastics Holdings B.V., a global producer of differentiated dispensing solutions for personal care, food and healthcare products. The deal adds Weener's ~19 facilities and ~4,000 employees to Silgan's packaging platform and is expected to deliver approximately €20 million of synergies within 18 months.

ACR (AmerCareRoyal), a portfolio company of HCI Equity Partners, has acquired Mat-Pac, Inc., a supplier of paper, plastic, aluminum and sustainable packaging solutions for the North American foodservice and janitorial/sanitation markets. The add-on strengthens ACR's product portfolio, expands its reach across foodservice and JanSan end markets, and retains the Mat-Pac leadership (the Jimenez family) in an ongoing role.

SupplyOne, a portfolio company of Wellspring Capital Management, has acquired Gulf Packaging, Inc., a custom corrugated box and display converter with production facilities in Bay Minette and Tallassee, Alabama. The deal expands SupplyOne’s footprint in the Southeastern U.S. and is the 42nd addition to the SupplyOne portfolio, strengthening its ability to serve customers across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Bluegem Capital Partners and Arev Partners have acquired co‑majority stakes in Pinard Group from IK VIII Fund, with the Pinard management team and founding family retaining and reinvesting alongside the new owners. The investors plan to capitalise on Pinard's technical know‑how and IP to expand its high‑end, sustainable plastic packaging offerings for prestige Beauty & Personal Care and Pharmaceutical customers and to pursue an accelerated buy‑and‑build growth strategy.

Multi-Color Corporation (MCC) has acquired Starport Technologies, an RFID-centric smart labels and RFID tag manufacturer based in Kansas City, Missouri. The deal expands MCC’s RFID and smart-label capabilities and creates a new smart packaging solutions business unit; financial terms were not disclosed.

Nordic Cold Chain Solutions has acquired Minus Works Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of sustainable cold-chain gel packs and proprietary freezing technology. Nordic will assume control of Minus Works' Long Island facility, build a new manufacturing site in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and expand operations in Reno, Nevada to scale the company's eco-friendly cold-chain solutions nationwide.

Cyklop (Cyklop International) has acquired The Needham Group, a UK and Ireland specialist in coding and marking systems and consumables, to strengthen its coding and marking product portfolio and ink production footprint across Europe, Africa and parts of the Middle East. The deal brings Needham's coding/marking technologies, ink production capabilities and personnel into the Cyklop group to offer more complete packaging-line solutions to OEMs and end users.

Novvia Group, a PE-backed global rigid container and life sciences packaging distributor, has acquired Liquid Bottles LLC, a Florida-based supplier of plastic and glass containers and other rigid packaging products. The deal—terms not disclosed—adds a 40,000 sq ft Palmetto, Florida warehouse and management team to Novvia, expanding its product breadth and presence in the Southeastern U.S.; Novvia is backed by private equity firm Kelso & Company.

Mill Rock Packaging Inc. (a portfolio company of Mill Rock Capital) acquired the packaging and laminating assets located in Woodland, California from Everett Graphics and entered a long-term supply agreement with Everett. The acquisition expands Mill Rock Packaging’s West Coast capacity and large-format printing and laminating capabilities while supporting Everett’s sustainable tray business focused on single-use plastic replacement. Terms were not disclosed.

M2S Group, a Wynnchurch Capital portfolio company, has acquired the label solutions business (Iconex Labels) from Iconex, an Atlas Holdings portfolio company. The add-on expands M2S Group's portfolio of high-performance variable print and eco-friendly label solutions and brings Iconex Labels' customers and coworkers into the M2S platform; terms were not disclosed.

Onex Partners (part of Onex Corporation) has agreed to make a majority investment in Fischbach KG, the German-headquartered maker of plastic cartridge packaging and related filling equipment. The owner-management group led by Thomas Langensiepen and Achim Helmenstein will remain involved; financial terms were not disclosed and the deal is expected to close subject to customary conditions.

Benelux private equity firm Gilde Equity Management will become majority shareholder of the newly merged conTeyor–KTP group after conTeyor Group (Belgium) and Germany-based KTP Kunststoff Palettentechnik agreed to merge. The combination creates a leading reusable packaging and storage solutions provider (annual sales ~€200m), with KTP shareholders VR Equitypartner and Wagner Holding retaining a significant minority stake.

Inovar Packaging Group, LLC has acquired The Kennedy Group, LLC, a label and packaging provider with facilities in Willoughby, Ohio and Levittown, Pennsylvania. The add-on expands Inovar’s production footprint and capabilities (pressure-sensitive, roll-fed and RFID labels) across the Midwest and Northeast while retaining The Kennedy Group’s leadership team.

ProMach has acquired MBF, a Verona, Italy-based manufacturer of rinsing, filling, and closing machines for the wine and distilled spirits industries. The acquisition expands ProMach's filling and closing capabilities and broadens its global reach in the spirits and wine markets; MBF’s leadership team will remain in place and the company’s ~200 employees will join ProMach’s Primary Packaging business line.

Mill City Capital completed a recapitalization of Diversified Packaging Holdings, LLC, a Blaine, Minnesota-based provider of pre-press products and flexographic plates. Barings provided second-lien debt and an equity co-investment to support the transaction and fund Diversified Packaging's growth initiatives.

Hinton Lumber Products, a Tuscaloosa-based wooden pallet manufacturer, received a minority growth investment led by Trivest Partners (via Trivest Growth Investment Fund II) with co-investment from Palmares Capital Partners. The capital will support Hinton’s organic growth initiatives and future M&A as the company expands its automated pallet manufacturing footprint in the Southern United States.

Smurfit Kappa and WestRock completed their previously announced combination on July 5, 2024, creating Smurfit Westrock plc, a global paper-based packaging leader. The combined company began primary trading on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker SW and maintains a standard listing on the London Stock Exchange under ticker SWR, with approximately 100,000 employees across 40 countries.

Verallia has completed the acquisition of Vidrala's glass business in Italy, including the Corsico plant near Milan, for an enterprise value of €230 million. The Corsico facility (225 kt/year capacity, two furnaces) and nearly 200 employees will expand Verallia's production footprint and glass packaging offerings for the food, beer and spirits markets in Italy.

Sonoco Products Company has agreed to acquire Eviosys, a leading European metal-packaging manufacturer, from KPS Capital Partners for approximately $3.9 billion. The deal, which also involves Crown Holdings selling its remaining ~20% stake, creates a global leader in metal food can and aerosol packaging and is intended to scale Sonoco’s core metal packaging platform and capture operational synergies.

Spell Family Office, via Spell Capital Partners, has acquired All Star Corrugated, a Fort Worth, Texas-based corrugated packaging manufacturer. The buyer plans to invest in new equipment and expand the company's manufacturing footprint to support customer demand growth in the Dallas/Fort Worth market.

SupplyOne, a portfolio company of Wellspring Capital Management, has acquired Columbia Corrugated Box Co., Inc., a family-owned corrugated and protective packaging manufacturer operating in Oregon, Washington and Northern California. The transaction — advised on the sell-side by Footprint Capital — expands SupplyOne's West Coast production and distribution footprint and is the 41st add-on to the SupplyOne platform.

Green Bay Packaging Inc. has acquired SMC Packaging Group, a Springfield, Missouri-based producer of custom corrugated boxes, displays and packaging materials. The purchase expands Green Bay Packaging's geographic reach into Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma and brings SMC into GBP's vertically integrated packaging platform.

BradyPLUS has acquired Idaho Package Company (iPAK), a regional industrial and agricultural packaging distributor serving Idaho, Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington. The add-on expands BradyPLUS’s industrial packaging capabilities and geographic coverage in the Western United States; terms were not disclosed.

Resource Label Group (RLG), a portfolio company of Ares Management Corporation, has acquired Beyer Graphics of Commack, New York. Beyer Graphics will join RLG Healthcare, strengthening RLG's pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmetic folding-carton and packaging capabilities as the third addition to the RLG Healthcare platform.

Specialized Packaging Group (SPG), a portfolio company of Altamont Capital Partners, has acquired Clark Foam Corporation, a Bolingbrook, Illinois-based custom foam and protective packaging manufacturer. The add-on expands SPG's engineered packaging capabilities and Midwest footprint, adds approximately 50 employees, and sees Clark Foam owner Jim Clark retire from day-to-day operations while remaining on as an advisor for a transition period.

Imperial Dade has acquired Canpaco, Inc., Crystal Poly Converters, Arcadian Paper Converters, Inc., and Canadian Paper & Packaging Co. Ltd. to expand its presence and capabilities in Canada. The deal brings the Canpaco family of paper and packaging converters and distributors onto Imperial Dade's Canada platform; financial terms were not disclosed.

Imperial Dade, a North American distributor of foodservice packaging, industrial products, and janitorial supplies, has acquired 3G Packaging, Inc., a regional industrial packaging distributor with locations in Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse, New York. The acquisition expands Imperial Dade's presence in upstate New York and brings 3G's local customer relationships and product offerings onto Imperial Dade's broader platform; financial terms were not disclosed.

Wise, a U.S.-based business forms, labels and digital printing specialist, has acquired the assets of Phoenix Data of Montgomery, Pennsylvania. The deal adds Phoenix Data's business forms and distributor relationships across the Eastern United States to Wise's existing label and digital print capabilities, expanding Wise's service offering and customer reach.

Supremex Inc. (TSX: SXP) has acquired the assets of Forest Envelope Group, a regional specialty envelope manufacturer located in Bolingbrook, Illinois, for approximately US$1.8 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Supremex says it will integrate Forest Envelope's activities into its nearby U.S. plants in Naperville and Chicago as a tuck-in to expand Midwest capacity and realize synergies across its U.S. envelope network.

Sunshine Enclosures, a New York–based provider of custom packaging solutions for the cannabis and CPG industries, has acquired Full Scale LLC, a Colorado-based branding, design and packaging provider. The deal brings Full Scale’s in-house design and print capabilities into Sunshine Enclosures to expand product offerings, increase domestic production capacity, and broaden the combined company’s market presence in the Colorado cannabis market.

Anderson & Vreeland, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of flexographic print technologies, has acquired Adheso-Graphics, a maker of pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes serving corrugated, wide web, narrow web, offset and letterpress printing markets. The acquisition expands Anderson & Vreeland's vertical manufacturing and product portfolio for flexographic printing consumables and strengthens its offerings across multiple printing and packaging end markets.

FCA, LLC (a Wynnchurch Capital portfolio company) has acquired Greentree Packaging and Lumber, a Fort Worth-based manufacturer of custom wood packaging and distributor of lumber products. The acquisition adds Greentree’s ~100k sq. ft. facility and nearly 200 employees to FCA’s ~40-location packaging network, expanding FCA’s custom wood packaging capabilities and presence in the Dallas/Fort Worth market and nationally.

International Paper (IP) has agreed to acquire DS Smith in a recommended all-share combination valuing DS Smith at 415 pence per share and implying an enterprise value of approximately $9.9 billion. The transaction will give pro forma IP shareholders ~66.3% and DS Smith shareholders ~33.7% of the combined company, creating a global leader in sustainable fiber-based packaging with expanded European and North American scale; the deal is expected to close by Q4 2024, subject to approvals.

Veritiv Corporation completed the acquisition of AmeriPac, LLC, a contract packaging and turnkey fulfillment provider, on April 12, 2024. The deal adds AmeriPac’s kitting, co-packing and complex packaging capabilities and a workforce of nearly 600 across Texas and Pennsylvania to Veritiv’s packaging and fulfillment platform, expanding its service offering for customers in cosmetics, personal care and other consumer end markets.