Plastics Industry M&A Activity Tracking

Global Plastics M&A recorded its second most active month of the year in May, posting 32 deals, an increase of six over April levels and matching 2023 average monthly transaction volume. The uptick in activity was driven by increased demand from financial buyers who represented more than half of the deal volume and accounted for 17 deals, a month-over-month increase of seven transactions for this buyer group. Meanwhile, strategic buyers remained active, showing a modest decline of one deal compared to the prior month. Overall, May was a welcomed sign of increased activity as deal volumes had not risen above 30 transactions since January.

• Strategic buyers tallied 15 transactions in May, representing 47% of monthly volume. This deal volume is slightly below the average monthly level observed in 2023 of 17
• Financial buyers reported a 70% month-over-month increase in volume relative to April, posting 17 deals. The surge in financial buyer performance was fueled by both add-on and platform transactions which outpaced prior month volumes by four and three, respectively
• Despite the rise in activity, the Industrial end market was the sole end market to increase in volume month-over-month. The Industrial market posted its highest transaction levels of the year in May and outpaced 2023 average monthly activity for this end market by four deals
• Domestic M&A activity spiked in May, accounting for 16 deals, or half of the monthly activity. This represents the largest quantity and share of deal volume for domestic activity since January 2023
• The Film subsector recorded six deals in May and displayed the largest rise in activity over April, doubling the prior month’s volume. The subsector was responsible for 19% of the deal volume, its third-largest share of activity in the last 12 month

Sources: S&P Capital IQ, Company Websites, Pitchbook, Company Reports, PMCF

Major News

• NPE 2024 Reports Record Number of Young Attendees, International Visitors (Plastics News)​ 
  https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/npe2024-sets-record-numbers-young-attendees#:~:text=NPE2024%20reports%20record%20number%20of%20young%20attendees%2C%20international%20visitors&text=NPE2024%20saw%20more%20than%2051%2C000,record%20number%20of%20young%20attendees

• DuPont to Break Into Three Smaller Companies, Joining Other Storied Peers (The Wall Street Journal)​ 
  https://www.wsj.com/business/dupont-to-split-into-three-companies-ceo-breen-to-become-chairman-b8be6959  

• Berry May Make Another $1B in Divestitures to Tighten Focus (Plastics News) 
  https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/berry-considering-1-billion-more-divestitures-tighten-business-focus#:~:text=Berry%20Global%20Group%20Inc.%2C%20in,businesses%20in%20the%20next%20year

• PE Prices on the Rise; Buyers ‘Very Frustrated’ (Plastics News)​ 
  https://www.plasticsnews.com/resin-pricing/pe-prices-rise-buyers-very-frustrated#:~:text=After%20a%20contentious%20battle%2C%20North,to%20make%20the%20increase%20stick

• North American Shipments of Plastics Processing Equipment Dip in Q1 (Plastics Today) 
  https://www.plasticstoday.com/industry-trends/north-american-shipments-of-plastics-processing-equipment-dip-in-q1  

Download Plastics M&A Update – May 2024