Latest news
A recent McKinsey report points out that the packaging industry has seen slowing growth after the pandemic, and corporate executives are viewing M&A as a key lever to adjust business portfolios and return to a growth trajectory, with the "programmatic M&A" strategy being particularly favored.
Cincinnati-based ProAmpac announced on Friday that it has completed the acquisition of Chicago-based TC Transcontinental Packaging. TC Transcontinental received CAD 2.1 billion in cash consideration and plans to distribute approximately CAD 20 per share to shareholders. This acquisition brings together two major North American flexible packaging companies, and ProAmpac will leverage this to accelerate the development of next-generation packaging solutions.
Sealed Air's fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results showed net debt falling to $3.7 billion and net leverage dropping to 3.2x, while reaffirming that the CD&R acquisition is expected to close in mid-2026.
Sealed Air shareholders approved the acquisition by CD&R at a special meeting, and the European Commission has also given the green light, with the transaction expected to close within months.
At a packaging conference in Austin, experts from Perella Weinberg Partners stated that packaging company valuations are closely tied to scale and growth, with M&A activity having been sluggish over the past two years, but there is upside potential in 2026.
The packaging industry enters 2026 under multiple pressures from sustainability regulations, consumer affordability, and tariff policies. Industry experts expect U.S. recycled content requirements to tighten, M&A activity to concentrate in specific segments, supply-demand adjustments in the containerboard market, and extended producer responsibility regulations to become the most closely watched policy variable.
The U.S. recycled resin market is encountering multiple pressures such as rising import volumes and weak demand, and industry experts expect challenges to continue into 2026.
In 2025, North American containerboard capacity experienced a historic 10% contraction. Analysts are cautiously optimistic about the 2026 market, expecting moderate demand growth of 1% to 1.5%, but weak consumption, sticky inflation, and threats from alternative packaging materials persist. Capacity utilization is expected to rise to the mid-90s, prices may see upward adjustments, but large-scale mergers and acquisitions may be hard to replicate.
The compostable packaging market is expected to grow from $56 billion in 2024 to $90 billion by 2032, but regulatory conflicts, certification disputes, and infrastructure shortcomings complicate its prospects. Revolution Foods piloted bagasse trays in 95 schools in San Francisco, while the U.S. National Organic Standards Board postponed a vote on whether to allow compostable plastics as compost feedstock.
