IVE Group managing director Matt Aitken has confirmed he is open to further packaging acquisitions in the local market.

In 2023, IVE Group acquired JacPak for $35 million, with the company confirming plans to become a $150 million player over the next five years in the local $800 million folding carton packaging industry.

Aitken confirmed IVE Group regularly receives approaches from companies looking for an exit strategy and any additional packaging acquisitions would need to be complementary to the future growth of the company.

“In terms of packaging acquisitions, we would look at folding carton converters, but we would not be averse to something outside of folding carton if the opportunity made sense,” Aitken told ProPack.

During his presentation of IVE Group’s half year results to 31 December 2024, Aitken was asked whether the company will be concentrating on the delivery of the next stage of the company’s supersite strategy or whether the company will be focused on additional acquisitions. Aitken said he was keeping an eye on potential acquisitions while also completing the new capital expenditure investments.

“For us, it is a combination of both. It’s clearly really important that we execute on both the 3PL move in Victoria and the supersite move in Sydney to drive out those efficiencies that we are looking to deliver for that next level of customer experience that we know we are able to deliver following the Braeside supersite three years ago.

“There is no doubt from a balance sheet perspective that if the right acquisition was to come along, we would definitely consider it. It’s one of the reasons why we have kept the balance sheet strong, so that we have the ability to look at any growth opportunities that might present themselves to the group – not just in the content and creative space – but maybe across other parts of our business and our value proposition too that we would consider acquisitions accordingly.

“There is nothing in play at the moment, so we remain focused on the capital management initiatives that we have called out today including share buyback and to pay down senior debt,” Aitken said.

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