Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC (Deloitte) acted as exclusive financial advisor to Austin Foam Plastics, Inc. (AFP), a leading provider of protective packaging solutions, in its sale to Sealed Air Corporation, a global premier packaging solutions provider. The transaction closed Aug. 1, 2018.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Pflugerville, Texas, AFP engages in the design, engineering, production, manufacturing and sourcing of a wide range of high quality protective packaging products, including fabricated foam, corrugated boxes, molded pulp products, wooden crates, combination solutions and other ancillary products.

"With the acquisition of AFP, coupled with our 2017 acquisition of Fagerdala, Sealed Air will further expand its capability to provide fabricated designs directly to customers in markets such as electronics and transportation," said Kenneth P. Chrisman, president of Sealed Air Corporation's Product Care division. "Sealed Air will also continue to leverage its established network of strategic fabricator partners, which remains an integral part of the company's strategy to deliver custom high-performance, sustainable packaging solutions."\

"The combination with Sealed Air will further AFP's strategy of expanding its presence in global markets while continuing to enhance its value-added protective packaging offerings," said Carlos Abello, former executive director at Austin Foam Plastics, Inc. "Deloitte's guidance throughout the transaction process was key to achieving a favorable outcome for AFP's shareholders."

"Packaging sector M&A has been very active in recent years, and we're seeing a very healthy uptick in deal volume and value in the protective packaging space in particular," said Will Frame, managing director and industrials head, Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC. "As ecommerce becomes in increasingly integral part of consumers' lives, we expect protective packaging deal-making to remain busy."