If there was ever any doubt that enterprise valuations are flashing a bright green light indicating that digital online media will be dominant in the future, go no further than Vista’s acquisition of Webs Inc. in December. Webs is forecasting only $9 million of revenue for 2011 and Vista is paying $117.5 million for the company ($100Mil is in cash!). In other words, Vista (itself a testament to the power of the internet to change the world of printing) paid more than 13x future sales! In another nod to the integration of commercial print with digital media, albeit on a much smaller scale, Excelsior Printing in western Massachusetts has acquired the assets of Berkshire Information Systems and established a new company, Excelsior Integrated, to provide various e-commerce services. Who says an old line printing company (100+ years in business) can’t evolve into the digital age?
In other notable transactions, Quartier Printing in New York State is back on The Target Report for the second month in a row, guided in in its acquisition efforts by the folks at the NAPL. TouchPoint Print Solutions in Illinois acquired Ginny’s Printing in Austin, Texas. Are we witnessing the birth of the next CGX now that TouchPoint has already acquired seven operating companies?
Also announced, but not closed (and hence not yet listed on The Target Report), in December, Forsyth Capital Investors has agreed to acquire Baldwin Technology which supplies process automation equipment and related consumables for the print media industry. It’s another sign that the financial experts in private equity are finding value in the print and related industries.
It was a “slow” month for bankruptcies in the printing industry, and we could not find one printer that filed in December, unless you count the commercial printing services provided by the various subsidiaries of Lee Enterprises, Inc., a major US newspaper publisher. The bankruptcy of Lee Enterprises, and its 34 related companies that filed bankruptcy on the same day, is sure to have some repercussions in the paper and other industries supplying this company that publishes 52 daily newspapers in 23 states, plus more than 300 specialized and weekly publications. The Lee Enterprises companies include the famous Pulitzer papers, which it acquired in 2005. There is sure to be a lot of ink used to report on this case and its aftereffects!
| 2011 December - Mergers and Acquisitions in the Printing, Packaging, Paper & Related Industries | |||||||||||||
| Deal Party #1 (Surviving Entity) | Pre-Deal Revenues ($Mil ) | Party #1 Address | Deal Party #2 | Pre-Deal Revenues ($Mil ) | Party #2 Address | Date Deal Public | Deal Value ($Mil) | Deal Structure (Intermediary) | Notes | Press Releases | |||
| Imagine! | $157.0 | Minneapolis, MN | DigiGraphics | No Data | Minneapolis, MN | 12/22/11 | No Data | Acquisition | Large format graphics. | Link | |||
| Quartier Printing | No Data | East Syracuse, NY | Graphics Plus Printing | No Data | Cortland, NY | 12/21/11 | No Data | Not Disclosed (NAPL) | Offset, screen & embroidery. | Link | |||
| Vistaprint | $817.0 | Venlo, Netherlands | Webs | $9.0 | Silver Spring, MD | 12/19/11 | $117.5 | Acquisition | $100Mil cash + $17.5Mil VPRT. | Link | |||
| ArborOakland Group | No Data | Royal Oak, MI | Tri-Color Photographic | No Data | Royal Oak, MI | 12/9/11 | No Data | Acquisition (New Direction) | Photo & large format. | Link | |||
| Riverside Acquisition Group | No Data | Westport, CT | Com-Pak Services | No Data | Moorestown, NJ | 12/7/11 | No Data | Assets Acquisition | Direct marketing services | Link | |||
| Pemcor Printing | $16.5 | Lancaster, PA | Laser Imaging Systems | $6.0 | Pittsburgh, PA | 12/7/11 | No Data | Acquisition | Transpromo, Tags, VDP | Link | |||
| Pemcor Printing | $16.5 | Lancaster, PA | Typecraft Press | $5.5 | Pittsburgh, PA | 12/7/11 | No Data | Acquisition | Coldset Web, Sheetfed, Mailing | Link | |||
| Electronics for Imaging (EFI) | $5,040 | Foster City, CA | Alphagraph Team GmbH | No Data | Essen, Germarny | 12/6/11 | No Data | Acquisition | MIS & ERP Software for Printers | Link | |||
| Hewlett Packard (HP) | $127,400 | Palo Alto, CA | Hiflex Software | No Data | Aachen, Germany | 12/6/11 | No Data | Acquisition | MIS & Web-to-Print Software | Link | |||
| Excelsior Printing (Excelsior Integrated) | No Data | North Adams, MA | Berkshire Information Systems | No Data | Lee, MA | 12/5/11 | No Data | Assets Acquisition | Formed Newco to buy assets | Link | |||
| IWCO Direct | No Data | Chanhassan, MN | DGI Services | No Data | Swedesboro, NJ | 12/5/11 | No Data | Assets Acquisition | Direct marketing services | Link | |||
| TouchPoint Print Solutions | No Data | Oak Brook, IL | Ginny's Printing | No Data | Austin, TX | 12/2/11 | No Data | Acquisition | Offset, Digital & Fulfillment | Link | |||
| PrintComm (WildfireXM) | No Data | Dallas, TX | Image Reproductions | No Data | Dallas, TX | 12/1/11 | No Data | Merger | Offset, Digital & Wide Format | Link | |||
| 2011 December - Bankruptcy Filings in the Printing, Packaging, Paper & Related Industries | ||||||||||||
| Filing Party | Date Case Filed | Pre-Petition Revenues ($Mil ) | Case # | Filing Party Address | Circuit | Region & City | Judge | Attorney for Debtor | Notes | |||
| Lee Enterprises, Inc. | 12/12/11 | $756.1 | 11-13918 | Davenport, IA | 3rd | Delaware | Kevin Gross | Donald J. Bowman, Jr. | 52 Newspapers in 23 States, com printing. | |||
