News Releases
CHICAGO, March 1, 2011 – M&A activity in the North American and global packaging industry continues to show signs of growth, according to a new BMO Capital Markets study released today. The BMO Capital Markets Packaging Group's sixth annual report, Mergers and Acquisitions in the Packaging Industry: 2010 Annual Deal Review, examines M&A trends in the packaging industry over the last several years on a North American and global basis (report available upon request).
“The challenging conditions that plagued the M&A market in 2008 and 2009 began to improve in 2010,” said Doug Lawson, Managing Director and Head of the BMO Capital Markets Packaging Group. “Both strategic and financial buyers began to resume acquisition activity in 2010 and are expected to remain active in 2011, as a result of improving conditions in the overall economy and the credit markets.”
The study lists each packaging transaction announced in 2010, and examines M&A activity by sector, geography, acquirer type, size, and valuation.
Key highlights include:
- Global deal volume increased 35 percent from 2009 levels to 227 packaging transactions
- M&A activity strengthened across all regions of the world, with North American activity increasing 18 percent to 79 transactions
- Median reported Enterprise Value / EBITDA multiple increased to 7.0x from 6.1x in 2009
- Strategic acquirers continued to account for the majority of global M&A activity, with 63 percent of 2010 deal volume; however, private equity acquirers accounted for the majority of North American M&A activity with 58 percent of 2010 deal volume
About the BMO Capital Markets Packaging Group
The BMO Capital Markets Packaging Group has transaction experience across the broad spectrum of the packaging industry. The group, which has led numerous M&A and financing transactions of packaging companies, has experience in representing public, private and private-equity owned companies across a variety of packaging sub-sectors. This includes the Rigid, Flexible, Paperboard, Labels, Contract Packaging and Packaging Machinery sub-sectors.
BMO Capital Markets also publishes The Converter, a monthly newsletter focused on M&A and corporate finance activity and topics in the packaging industry.
To request a copy of the Mergers & Acquisitions in the Packaging Industry: Annual Deal Review or to subscribe to The Converter, a monthly BMO newsletter which reports on the activities and trends shaping this industry, visit http://www.bmocm.com/industry/us/industrials/packaging/
About BMO Capital Markets
BMO Capital Markets is a leading, full-service North American financial services provider offering equity and debt underwriting, corporate lending and project financing, merger and acquisitions advisory services, merchant banking, securitization, treasury management, market risk management, debt and equity research and institutional sales and trading. BMO Capital Markets has more than 2,000 employees operating in 26 locations around the world, including 14 in North America.
BMO Capital Markets is a member of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), one of the largest diversified financial services providers in North America with US$404 billion total assets and 38,000 employees as at October 31, 2010.
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Patrick O'Herlihy, Chicago, patrick.o'herlihy@bmo.com, (312) 461-6970
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