KPS to buy MM Packaging from MM Group for €2.4 billion

KPS Capital Partners, LP has signed a definitive agreement to acquire MM Packaging from Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG (MM Group) for an enterprise value of €2.4 billion, the private equity firm said in its announcement on November 9, 2026.

The transaction carves the Vienna-based packaging division out of the listed Austrian fiber-based packaging group and hands control to a special-situations investor that manages approximately $19.1 billion in assets as of June 30, 2026. MM Group will retain 30% ownership of the business, a stake its CEO, Peter Oswald, said lets the listed parent “participate in its future value creation under KPS ownership.” Upon closing, MM Packaging will operate as a standalone company and keep its name.

MM Packaging is headquartered in Vienna and operates more than 50 production sites across 19 countries with approximately 8,500 employees. The companies describe the business as the world’s largest producer of secondary pharmaceutical packaging, the cartons and leaflets that sit outside the product itself, and a leading European producer of folding cartons for food. Key customer relationships with top food, consumer and pharmaceutical companies average more than 20 years, according to the announcement.

For KPS, the deal extends a record in packaging that spans paper, board and metal substrates. Michael Psaros, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of KPS, said the firm plans to “deploy our deep industry experience, financial resources, commitment to manufacturing excellence and global presence to drive MM Packaging’s growth.”

The purchase gives KPS one of the larger European packaging carve-outs of the cycle, and it lands in a sector private equity has favored when listed industrial groups shed divisions to focus their portfolios. KPS funds’ portfolio companies generate aggregate annual revenues of approximately $26.1 billion, operate 277 manufacturing facilities in 25 countries and employ around 62,000 people, as of June 30, 2026.

Approvals and a French hurdle remain

Completion is subject to corporate and regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. The French part of the business is additionally subject to consultation processes with workers representatives, a step that can shape the closing timeline for deals touching French industrial assets. No closing date has been disclosed.

Oswald framed the sale as a growth accelerator for the packaging unit. “This transaction will allow MM Packaging to accelerate growth under the leadership of KPS, who has proven their expertise in managing large, global manufacturing and industrial businesses,” he said in the announcement.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP and Schönherr served as legal counsel to KPS, with Barclays Bank Ireland plc and Citi as financial advisors. MM Group’s sell-side advisors were not disclosed in the announcement.