InterOcean’s Packaging Industry Update highlights the continued importance of the sector to the U.S. economy and the high level of M&A activity as industry participants seek to increase geographic presence, gain customer exposure and build value-added capabilities. The availability of capital, strong public equity markets and private equity consolidation activity are driving the consistently high M&A transaction volume.
While the industry enjoys robust health due to positive economic conditions, recent tariff announcements have generated a greater level of uncertainty. The smaller companies that dominate the industry are concerned that they may not be able to pass along 100% of additional input costs to their larger multi-national customers. InterOcean believes the effect of the proposed tariffs on M&A activity may have offsetting consequences, as smaller packagers may retrench to manage the higher input costs while consolidators may increase acquisition activity to decrease competition and augment pricing power.