Spanish search fund Ariol Capital acquired 100% of Italian plastic and metal packaging distributor Pentapackaging in summer 2018, a deal now disclosed. It is financed with own resources and bank debt, and is part of its portfolio company Repli's growth plan.

Biffa has received planning approval from Durham County Council for a £15m plastics recycling plant at Foxcover Distribution Park near Seaham, creating around 70 jobs. Construction is expected to start in Summer 2019.

L'Occitane and Loop Industries signed a multi-year supply agreement for Loop branded 100 percent sustainable PET plastic. L'Occitane en Provence will start using it in product packaging from 2022.

Nestle and Danimer Scientific announced a collaboration to develop biodegradable water bottles based on Danimer's Nodax PHA. PepsiCo, an existing Danimer partner, may also gain access to the resins developed.

Toray Plastics (America) is investing in a new 8.7-meter polypropylene film line at its North Kingstown, Rhode Island plant, with start-up anticipated in 2020. The project includes a new building to house the equipment.

Berry Global Group said it is considering a possible cash offer for RPC Group, challenging Apollo Global's £3.3bn bid. Berry is reportedly conducting due diligence and an offer may not materialise.

Bereeq, a unit of Raya Holding, plans to open a second plastic recycling plant in 6th of October City, Egypt, with a 250 million EGP investment by the end of 2019. The plant is intended to double the company's production capacity.

Saudi Pallet Manufacturing Company signed a 90 million US dollar memorandum of understanding with SABIC to manufacture Paxxal plastic pallets for export and develop local supply chain initiatives. The agreement was signed on 28 January 2019 in Riyadh during the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program launch.

Évolupak, a maker of recyclable thermoformed food packaging, will build a 40,000 sq ft building costing 10 million dollars to double its floor space in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. About 20 jobs will be created, with completion targeted for June 2019.

Technical Precision Plastics has merged its operations with IntraPac International, a specialty packaging company owned by Oncap. TPP has facilities in Mebane, North Carolina and Haina, Dominican Republic.

Songwon Industrial and RPC bpi nordfolien intend to manufacture 20kg polyethylene bags containing 50% recycled PE. Songwon is expected to begin the transition in the coming months.

SABIC, with customers Unilever, Vinventions and Walki Group, announced the launch of ISCC certified circular polymers to be produced at SABIC's Geleen site in the Netherlands from TACOIL feedstock supplied by Plastic Energy. The products will be introduced to market in 2019.

RPC Group signed a three-year cooperation agreement with Norwegian dairy company TINE, covering plastic containers, pails, pots and bottles from three RPC companies. The deal aims to improve efficiency and packaging development.

Alpek Polyester's operational subsidiary DAK Americas has agreed to acquire the Perpetual PET recycling plant of Perpetual Recycling Solutions in Richmond, Indiana, with capacity of 45,000 tonnes of rPET flake per year; financial terms are undisclosed and completion is scheduled for Q1 2019.

Nestlé announced a partnership with Danimer Scientific to develop biodegradable water bottles using Danimer's PHA polymer Nodax. The partnership supports Nestlé's commitment to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.

Wellcall Holdings and Trelleborg Holding signed a shareholders agreement on 15 January 2019 to form a Malaysian company making composite hose and fittings, with Trelleborg holding 51%. Initial capital is US$2.2 million and completion is expected by year end.

Emsur, the flexible packaging division of Grupo Lantero, has acquired a majority of Russian shrink sleeve producer Eximpack, which it had partly owned for over two years.

Panca Budi Idaman (PBID) plans to start building a new plastics and packaging plant in Pemalang, Central Java in Q1 2019 on 12 hectares bought for about Rp40 billion, with completion targeted by year end.

Thailand-based Indorama Ventures agreed to acquire German firm Invista Resins and Fibers, including its Gersthofen value-added PET manufacturing facility.

Loop Industries formed a strategic alliance with Uhde Inventa-Fischer, a Swiss engineering company owned by thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, to promote sustainable PET and polyester production using its waste-to-resin process.

Private equity firm Graham Partners invested in Nuconic Packaging of Vernon, California, a thermoformed PET food packaging supplier, to build a nationwide packaging platform with Tray-Pak and EasyPak. No financial terms were given.

Virospack, a maker of cosmetic droppers, recently started up a new production unit of 14,000 square meters in Badalona near Barcelona, with latest-generation machinery and automated production lines.

The US FTC granted early termination of Alfa, S.A.B. de C.V.'s acquisition of M&G Resins USA, LLC, a resin producer, on December 21, 2018.

McDermott's Lummus Technology was awarded a technology contract by HPCL Rajasthan Refinery for the license and basic engineering of two 490 KTA polypropylene plants in Barmer District, Rajasthan, India. The award was reflected in McDermott's third quarter 2018 backlog.

INEOS Styrolution made the final investment decision to build a new 100kt ASA plant at its Bayport, Texas site, with start-up scheduled for 2021. WorleyParsons was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract.

Borealis took the final investment decision to expand its polypropylene plant in Kallo, Belgium by 80 ktpa. The added capacity is expected to start up in mid-2020.

Innovaciones Plasticas S.A. was awarded a contract by Spanish state postal operator S.E. Correos y Telegrafos for manufacture and supply of packaging products for post office sales, valued at EUR 510,410 across three lots.

SABIC signed a memorandum of understanding with UK-based PLASTIC ENERGY for feedstock supply to its European petrochemical operations. The two intend to build the first commercial plant in the Netherlands, anticipated to start production in 2021.

Packaging manufacturer Duo UK is investing £1.5m in new machinery for its Manchester factory, including an Italian-made co-extruder, to raise productivity and boost stock capacity by 30%. The investment is expected to create five new jobs.

Rohrer Industries, owned by ShoreView Industries, acquired Addison, Illinois-based Transparent Container, a retail packaging maker with more than 400 employees, adding thermoforming capacity. CFI USA acted as sell-side advisor. The announcement was dated 2018-12-13.

H. Großekämper Kunststoffe plans to build an automated high-bay warehouse with about 10,260 pallet spaces and a loading hall at its plastic bucket plant in Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock, at a gross cost of €10.5 million, with construction in 2018–2020.

Nestlé Waters North America signed an agreement with recycled PET supplier CarbonLITE, which is building a third facility in Pennsylvania expected to produce 80 million pounds of rPET pellets per year.

Cross Enterprise Procurement Group has secured a multi-year supply framework contract from Canada-based Loop Industries for 100% recycled PET plastic to Coca-Cola bottlers.

French luxury house Chanel invested in Finnish biodegradable material company Sulapac. The investment is dated December 2018.

GEPP's Procesos Plasticos (Proplasa) plant in Tultitlan, State of Mexico, has a production line targeting over 14,000 tonnes of shrink film and 4,500 tonnes of stretch film per year. Italian firm Amut Dolci Extrusion supplied three coextrusion lines and related equipment.

RPC Group announced the acquisition of Nordfolien GmbH for €75 million, adding polythene film production with sites in Germany and Poland to its bpi flexibles business. Completion is subject to German and Polish competition clearance.

RPC Group plc ended merger talks with Bain Capital and gave Apollo Global Management more time to make a firm takeover offer for the European plastics packager.

An Phat Plastic & Green Environment JSC signed a contract to supply thin film packaging worth VND 1.4 trillion (US$60 million) to an unnamed Japanese partner.

Indorama agreed in late December 2018 to acquire an Alabama PET recycling facility from Custom Polymers, with combined annual capacity of 31,000 tons.

Indorama agreed in late December 2018 to acquire Invista's 282,000 metric-ton-per-year PET operation in Gersthofen, Germany, which makes industrial fibers and packaging resins.

Subsidiaries of Suzhou Hycan Holdings won five-year contracts to supply plastic lubricant bottles to ExxonMobil's lube blending plants in Taicang, Jiangsu and Tianjin, China.

JBB Packaging will open a plastic film manufacturing facility in Weldon, Halifax County, North Carolina, investing $11 million and creating 50 jobs. The facility will recycle plastics and produce flexible packaging and garment bags.

Videolar-Innova is investing R$500 million to double its styrene monomer plant in Triunfo, Brazil, to 460,000 tonnes per year, with completion expected in 2019.

iMD Companies announced that its subsidiary LCG Plastic signed a purchase order and contract to supply about $1.78 billion of PVC pipes over two years to RWS&S Odisha, Bhubaneswar, India. Deliveries are to ramp up to 10 million pipes per month.

Syndicat Mixte du Port de Dieppe awarded Schoeller Allibert a EUR 37,809 contract for 1,500 food-grade crates with lids and 160 stackable plastic pallets. The award was dated November 26, 2018 and published February 5, 2019.

US engineering products maker TriMas agreed to acquire Plastic Srl, an Italian manufacturer of caps and closures, for an undisclosed sum. Plastic Srl will become a wholly owned division of TriMas' Rieke business on completion in the first half of 2019.

Malaysian packaging services firm Scientex agreed with several vendors to acquire a 42.41% controlling stake in Daibochi for MYR222.5 million ($53.11 million), subject to a conditional share sale agreement.

CarbonLITE plans a new 200,000-square-foot rPET processing facility in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania, expected to be in full production by early 2020. It is expected to produce 80 million pounds per year of food-grade rPET pellets.

Nestlé Waters North America signed a significant agreement with recycled PET supplier CarbonLITE, which is expanding its U.S. operations. The company already buys rPET from CarbonLITE facilities in California and Texas.

Indorama Ventures (IVL) acquired a 74% share of Egypt-based PET preforms maker Medco Plast, which has annual capacity of 70,000 metric tonnes. The deal was reported on 15 November 2018.