State of the Industry: Global Consolidation in Packaging

Labels—The label sector plays a key role within packaging, operating within both plastic and fiber-based segments. Blaige & Company's 10-year analysis shows that 48 percent of 2001's top 50 label converters were sold or merged during the past decade. About 34 percent were eliminated through consolidation; these transactions largely represent M&A involving publicly traded or large global packaging concerns. The remaining 14 percent of the top players sold a controlling interest, yet maintained their corporate identities. This typically indicates a transaction involving a financial investor that uses the company as a "platform" for complementary add-on acquisitions. Examples of private equity growth transactions in the label sector include York Label (9 add-on acquisitions) and WS Packaging (11 add-on acquisitions).