Acquisition · Packaging
TOPPAN agrees to buy Sonoco's thermoformed and flexible packaging unit for $1.8 billion
- Buyer
- TOPPAN Holdings (Tokyo)
- Target
- Sonoco Thermoformed & Flexible Packaging (TFP), Hartsville, South Carolina (seller HQ)
- Value
- $1.8B
- Status
- Completed on April 1, 2025.
- Date
- 2024-12-19
TOPPAN Holdings agreed to acquire Sonoco Products' Thermoformed & Flexible Packaging business for about $1.8 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The unit had pro forma 2023 revenue of about $1.3 billion, roughly 4,500 employees and 22 plants, with its footprint concentrated in North and South America. It makes packaging for snacks, prepared meals, fresh produce, coffee, pet food and medical products.
Why it matters
The deal is a major step in TOPPAN's push to build a global sustainable-packaging business, giving it a large manufacturing base and customer network in the Americas as its traditional printing business shrinks.
The deal
TOPPAN Holdings agreed on December 19, 2024 to buy Sonoco's Thermoformed and Flexible Packaging business for about $1.8 billion, on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The deal closed on April 1, 2025.
What it brings
The unit had about $1.3 billion of revenue in 2023, around 4,500 employees and 22 plants, mostly in North and South America. It makes trays, pouches and film for snacks, ready meals, fresh produce, coffee, pet food and medical products.
Why both sides did it
TOPPAN, once known as a printing company, wants to become a global leader in sustainable packaging, pairing its film technology with Sonoco's customers in the Americas. Sonoco sold the unit to simplify its business and focus on its remaining paper and consumer packaging lines.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
