A year ago, Packaging News ran a story on its front cover about the decision by Nampak to divest its European cartons and healthcare operations to private equity. The move was just the tip of the iceberg as it turned out - in 2011 the merger and acquisition activity snowballed. Major names, including Chesapeake and Huhtamaki, dipped into the funds to buy other operations in order to increase their presence in the sector. As this issue of Packaging News went to press, Benson Group, too, was sold to private equity. So, is it more of the same in 2012? It's highly likely.
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