Industry Report: Packaging Q4 2025 [Peakstone]

Key Report Highlights

• M&A Activity in Packaging Remains Regionally Concentrated and Strategically Led
  As of June 2025, strategic buyers continue to dominate packaging M&A activity across the U.S., particularly in industrial hubs like Illinois (145 deals), Ohio (93), California (139), and Texas (67). This reflects a long-term consolidation trend favoring operational scale, vertical integration, and supply chain resilience.
• Median Transaction Value Holds Strong Despite Volume Dip
  While deal volume is below peak pandemic levels, the median transaction value reached $157 million, maintaining strength close to 2022 and 2023 levels. This consistency suggests buyers are still paying premiums for quality platforms with scalable operations and differentiated offerings, especially in the flexible, sustainable, and automated packaging segments.
• Valuations Normalize, With Select Premiums for Specialized Operators
  As of mid-2025, median EV/EBITDA multiples for packaging deals stand at 9.9x, with EV/Revenue at 0.5x. Though slightly down from recent highs, valuations remain above pre-2020 levels. Companies offering sustainable materials, automation solutions, or proprietary designs are still achieving double-digit multiples.
• Public Market Performance Favors Paper and Specialty Packaging
  From 2014 to mid-2025, the Peakstone Paper Packaging Index gained 18%, while the Plastic, Metal & Glass Containers Index rose 66%, both trailing the S&P 500’s 214% return. However, paper packaging currently commands the highest EV/EBITDA multiple at 10.2x, followed by paper products at 8.7x, and plastics at 8.3x, signaling investor preference for renewable material platforms.
• Recent Transactions Highlight Interest in Sustainability, Modularization, and Scale
  Notable M&A deals include Amcor’s $8.4B acquisition of Berry Global Group, TOPPAN’s $1.8B carve-out from Sonoco, and Safe & Green Holdings’ $4M acquisition of Giant Containers, a modular packaging company. These illustrate growing buyer focus on sustainability, flexible packaging formats, and modular infrastructure that aligns with circular economy principles.

Peakstone Group is a Chicago-based, 40+ person investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising. An Axial member since 2010, Peakstone works across a variety of industries and has marketed more than 270 deals on the Axial platform at the time of publication.

Peakstone is a trusted member of the Axial Partnership Program and contributes content and industry insights to Axial’s Middle Market Review. The following report is a Peakstone Group publication, which has been approved for Axial to share with its network.

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