Charlotte’s Sealed Air bought by NY private equity firm in $10.3 billion deal
Sealed Air, the Charlotte-based maker of Bubble Wrap, is being bought by a New York private equity firm in an all-cash deal for $10.3 billion, the companies announced Monday.
The transaction between Sealed Air and Investment firm CD&R is expected to close in mid-2026, according to a news release. After the agreement is finalized, Sealed Air’s headquarters will remain in Charlotte.
Sealed Air will become a privately held company, and its stock will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange after the transaction.
The 47-year-old CD&R firm has experience in the industrial and packaging industries. Its investment portfolio also includes such big-name companies such as American Greetings, TruGreen and PetSafe Brands.
More on Sealed Air
Sealed Air was founded in 1960. In addition to Bubble Wrap, it produces padded envelopes and other packaging products that preserve food, protect goods and automate packaging processes.
In 2014, the company moved its headquarters from New Jersey to Charlotte on a 32-acre campus off West Tyvola Road.
During that time, it was the largest corporate relocation in Charlotte’s history after it was lured to the area by state and local incentives totaling around $43 million, The Charlotte Observer reported.
In 2018, Sealed Air faced scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its accounting practices and financial reporting. That led to the company terminating its former chief financial officer in June 2019 “for cause” amid the SEC investigation, among other actions, The Charlotte Observer reported. The firing followed an internal review of the board of director’s audit committee.
Later in August 2021, Sealed Air announced that the investigation into the company ended, and that authorities would not take any action against it.
However, the SEC took action against the company’s former CFO and against the company’s former auditing firm, Ernst & Young, along with E&Y partners. This involved issues with how the auditor was chosen and conflicts of interest from 2015.
Sealed Air made $5.4 billion last year in sales and employs more than 16,400 people. After moving into its newly constructed, $58 million headquarters in southwest Charlotte in 2014, the company employed about 1,000 people.
The company did not respond to a request for current local employment totals, as of Monday afternoon.
This story was originally published November 17, 2025 at 9:26 AM.
