KPS buys 70% of MM Packaging in €2.4B carve-out
What's the deal? KPS CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Partners has agreed to acquire MM PackagingDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → from Austria's Mayr-Melnhof Karton AGDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (MM GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →) at an enterprise value of €2.4 billion. KPS takes a 70% majority stake, while MM Group retains 30%. Upon closing, MM Packaging will operate as a standalone company and keep its name.
What each company does: MM Packaging is a global maker of consumer packaging — folding cartons, labels, and leaflets — for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, beauty, and household sectors. Headquartered in Vienna, it runs more than 50 production sites across 19 countries and employs about 8,500 people. KPS, a New York manufacturing-focused private equity firm, manages roughly $19.1 billion in assets.
Why now? The sale lets MM Group refocus on its Board & Paper business, which has faced overcapacity and cost pressure. Its packaging divisions, by contrast, have been improving, with growth in pharma and healthcare in the first nine months of 2026.
What's the endgame? MM Group expects €1.8–1.9 billion in net proceeds and is weighing a special distribution of €0.5–0.6 billion to shareholders. Its retained 30% keeps it exposed to future value creation under KPS.
"This transaction will allow MM Packaging to accelerate growth under the leadership of KPS," said Peter Oswald, chief executive officer of MM Group.
What could go wrong? Completion is subject to corporate and regulatory approvals, plus worker consultation for the French business, and is expected in the first half of 2027. The €2.4 billion value — about 9× estimated 2026 adjusted EBITDA — leaves little room for underperformance.
The signal: The carve-out fits a broader wave of packaging-sector consolidation, with private equity increasingly buying up European packaging assets. For MM Group, it is as much a balance-sheet reset as an ownership shift.
Read more: prnewswire.com
Image credit: Mm Packaging
