Based on the deals over the past month, I must emphatically stick with my tagline, the “evolving” printing industry. Mobile-interactive services have come of age, and it’s the printers who are doing the buying and/or organically growing services that link printed images to smart phones, pads, and PC’s. Quad Graphics made a splash in the industry with its front cover position on industry trade magazine, Printing Impressions – not for its recent acquisition of Vertis, but rather for its aggressive positioning to offer augmented reality applications, linking printed images to electronic versions of the message and to other “user experiences.”
In a signature deal following right on the tails of Quad Graphics’ cover article, Brown Printing acquired Nellymoser, a Boston-based mobile marketing and technology company. According to Brown Printing’s press release, Nellymoser “deployed over 800 print-to-digital campaigns in 2012. Campaigns typically include one or more brand activation points such as invisible watermarks, images, NFC and QR codes that are placed in magazines, catalogs, or on product packaging. Consumers scan the printed material with their mobile smartphones, thereby activating additional interactive content or digital direct response mobile marketing.” Brown printing now offers these cutting edge services - that’s evolution!
Lexmark, the manufacturer of printing devices that helped fuel the “distribute-then-print” model, announced back-to-back transactions that continue its evolution (there’s that word again!) from a hardware manufacturer to content delivery solutions provider. In the first deal, the company acquired Twistage, a cloud-based digital asset management solution for video, audio and image content. In its second deal of the month, Lexmark acquired AccessVia. The company’s software delivers in-store signage content to big box retailers, which is then printed in the stores on local print devices, or printed centrally in print production centers, or displayed digitally on devices throughout the stores.
Think Patented, an evolving commercial printer in Dayton, Ohio, acquired Prime Marketing, increasing its commitment to marketing service portals, PURL’s, QR codes and back-end reporting and analytics. MSP of Pittsburgh purchased the assets of e-integrity of Stratford, Connecticut, to bolster its marketing service portal and digital asset management offerings. GLS Companies of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota acquired Next Communications, offering marketing communications including database-driven solutions.
The packaging sector was quiet this month, not a surprise after the multitude of deals announced in January and February. For those committed to printing technologies, packaging remains a bright spot and we suspect that deals in the packaging sector will resume after this month’s breather.
Putting aside the planned for and expected dual bankruptcy filing of Dex One Media and SuperMedia in anticipation of their merger, March was a quiet month for bankruptcies in the industry. Also worth noting is the demise of Entertainment Publications, in a Chapter 7 filing which brings an end to the publisher of those thick coupon books sold as fundraising vehicles.
RR Donnelley announced the closing of two more printing plants, both formerly Banta facilities in Ohio. Scotsman Media ceased publication of its Pennysaver and closed plants in upstate New York. The Fetter Group in Louisville, Kentucky, shuttered its label printing operation following the sale of its label business to the much larger Fort Dearborn.
| 2013 March - 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 |
|||
| Raintree Graphics | No Data | Jacksonville, FL | Beechler's Printing | No Data | Gainesville, FL | 3/22/13 | No Data | Acquisition | Commercial printing | Link | |||
| Domtar | $5,482 | Montreal, QC | Xerox (Paper & Print Media Unit) |
$22,400 | Norwalk, CT | 3/22/13 | No Data | Acquisition | Paper distribution | Link | |||
| KPS Capital Partners | No Data | New York, NY | Wausau
Paper (Specialty Papers Business) |
$822.0 | Mosinee, WI | 3/22/13 | $130.0 | Acquisition (Mesirow Financial) |
Specialty paper unit & mills | Link | |||
| Multi-Pack Solutions | No Data | Mt. Prospect, IL | Green Seed Contract Packaging | No Data | Batavia, IL | 3/21/13 | No Data | Acquisition | PVA packaging | Link | |||
| Smith Family | No Data | Boise, ID | ESP Printing & Mailing | No Data | Boise, ID | 3/16/13 | No Data | Acquisition | Direct mail print & services | Link | |||
| EP Graphics | No Data | Berne, IN | Mignone Communications | No Data | Huntington, IN | 3/13/13 | No Data | Asset purchase | Publications & catalogs | Link | |||
| Brown Printing | No Data | Waseca, MN | Nellymoser | No Data | Boston, MA | 3/11/13 | No Data | Acquisition | Mobile marketing | Link | |||
| Tapp Label | No Data | Napa, CA | Ben Franklin Press & Label | No Data | Napa, CA | 3/7/13 | No Data | Acquisition | Wine labels | Link | |||
| MSP | No Data | Pittsburgh, PA | e-Integrity | No Data | Stratford, CT | 3/7/13 | No Data | Asset purchase | Web-2-Print portals | Link | |||
| Lexmark | $3,798 | Lexington, KY | AccessVia | No Data | Seattle, WA | 3/5/13 | No Data | Acquisition | Retail signage e-distribution | Link | |||
| Lexmark | $3,798 | Lexington, KY | Twistage | No Data | San Francisco, CA | 3/5/13 | No Data | Acquisition | Cloud image & video mngt. | Link | |||
| Think Patented | No Data | Dayton, OH | Prime Marketing | No Data | Miamisburg, OH | 3/1/13 | No Data | Acquisition | Marketing services | Link | |||
| GLS Companies | $55.0 | Brooklyn Park, MN | Next Communications | No Data | Minnetonka, MN | 3/1/13 | No Data | Acquisition | Marketing communications | Link | |||
| 2013 March - Bankruptcy Filings in the Printing, Packaging, Paper & Related Industries | ||||||||||||
Filing Party |
Date Case Filed |
Pre-Petition Revenues ($Mil ) |
Case # |
Filing Party Address |
Circuit |
Region & City |
Judge |
Attorney for Debtor |
Notes |
|||
| Chapter 11 Filings: | ||||||||||||
| Dex
One Corp (aka R.H. Donnelly) |
3/18/13 | No Data | 13-10533 | Cary, NC | 3rd | Delaware Wilmington |
Kevin Gross | Laura Davis Jones | Prepack to merge w/ SuperMedia | |||
| SuperMedia (aka Idearc Media, Verizon Directories) |
3/18/13 | No Data | 13-10545 | Dallas, TX | 3rd | Delaware Wilmington |
Kevin Gross | Pauline K. Morgan | Prepack to merge w/ Dex One | |||
| National Converting & Packaging Corp | 3/15/13 | No Data | 13-31358 | Annis, TX | 5th | Northern
TX Dallas |
Stacey G. Jernigan | Eric A. Liepins | Paper sales & converting | |||
| Genesis Press, Inc. | 3/7/13 | No Data | 13-01376 | Greenville, SC | 4th | South
Carolina Columbia |
Helen E. Burris | Robert A. Pohl | Commercial & publication printing | |||
| Chapter 7 Filings: | ||||||||||||
| The Globe Printing Company | 3/25/13 | No Data | 13-21250 | New Wilmington, PA | 3rd | Western
PA Pittsburgh |
Carlota M. Bohm | Kenneth K. McCann | Commercial printing | |||
| Entertainment Publications, LLC | 3/12/13 | No Data | 13-10496 | Troy, MI | 3rd | Delaware Wilmington |
Christopher S. Sontchi | Christopher A. Ward | Fundraising coupon books | |||
| Mail, Source and Data, Inc. | 3/4/13 | No Data | 13-54709 | Doraville, GA | 11th | Northern
GA Atlanta |
C. Ray Mullins | Natalie D. Mays | Printing, mailing & fulfillment | |||
| 2013 March - Non-Bankruptcy Closures in the Printing, Packaging, Paper & Related Industries | |||||||||||
Closed Company / Facility |
Date of Closure |
Pre-Closure Revenues ($Mil ) |
Closing Address |
Related Party | Related Party Address |
Date Closure Public | Notes |
Press Releases |
|||
| RR Donnelley - Printing Facility | May-13 | No Data | Greenfield, OH | RR Donnelley | Chicago, IL | 3/13/13 | Formerly a Banta location | Link | |||
| RR Donnelley - Printing Facility | May-13 | No Data | Sycamore, OH | RR Donnelley | Chicago, IL | 3/13/13 | Formerly a Banta location | Link | |||
| Scotsman Media Group | 3/11/13 | No Data | Auburn,
NY Cortland, NY |
None | N/A | 3/11/13 | Ceased publication of Pennysaver | Link | |||
| Fetter Group | Jun-13 | No Data | Louisville, KY | None | N/A | 3/6/13 | Follows sale of label business in February '13 | Link | |||
