The recently announced M&A transaction involving Hutchison Allgood and Graphic Visual Solutions contributes 3 Lessons Learned to the continuing conversation about growth by strategic transaction in the print and graphics communications industry. Privately-Owned Companies Make M&A Risk-Reward Decisions with Both... Continue reading

Attendees at the recent NAPL-NAQP Owners Conference exchanged ideas/perspectives on industry trends and issues including strategies for transitioning from ownership. Here are 3 key learning points that received attention among participants: 1. The M&A marketplace for quick and small commercial... Continue reading

It never seems old to visit Graph Expo, but this year's show reinforces significant trends and highlights the difference from "then" to "now." Overall, the show remains highly relevant to business owners who are seeking ideas, insights, and perspective. While... Continue reading

Given the substantial M&A activity that defines the landscape of the print and graphics communications industry, it's interesting to note that very few strategic acquisitions in recent years have triggered any antitrust concerns. Why do the regulators appear to be... Continue reading

Some years ago, I attended a football game between my alma mater, Monmouth University and Wagner College. As a student at Monmouth, I was sports director of the radio station there, so I made my way up to the press box to say hello to the most current generation of play-by-play and color commentators on WMCX-FM. While there I met a professional scout who was there to take a look at the Monmouth quarterback. We struck up a conversation, as I was interested in learning all I could about someone who made a living going to college football games. About... Continue reading

Succession planning is a huge challenge facing owners in the printing and graphics communications industry, and, as head of the NAPL Mergers and Acquisitions advisory team, it’s an issue that comes through our offices at NAPL on a frequent basis,... Continue reading

As was discussed in our 08/24/12 post—“Waiting Game Can Prove Costly”—the vast majority of NAPL State of the Industry participants aren’t playing that game. Instead, they’ve instituted or plan to institute initiatives to make this year better than last year.... Continue reading

Debt financing for the 5-10% of print and graphics communications companies that are growing is not overly difficult to obtain in the current climate (summer, 2012). Banks, leasing companies, and asset-based lenders all have their doors open for good borrowers.... Continue reading

The August numbers are coming in for the NAPL Printing Business Panel—and they are not encouraging: • Just 19.2% now expect business to improve during the six months ahead, down from 30.6% in April and 36.2% in January. • More... Continue reading

An NAPL client on the West Coast is in "early stage" discussions with another print and graphics communications company about a possible strategic acquisition. Semantics about "acquisition" or "merger" are familiar terrain for these kind of exploratory talks, but both... Continue reading

Sales were up 4.3% during the first quarter of 2012 for participants in the NAPL/NAQP Quick and Small Commercial Printers Trends Report. Nearly 57.0% grew, up from 48.8% in 2011, with nearly one-third growing by at least 10.0%. Those numbers... Continue reading

A critical component of many M&A transactions in the printing and graphics communications industry is to define the role/compensation for the former owner(s) who is becoming part of the acquiring company. I'm not referring to the so-called "transition period." Rather,... Continue reading

As an M&A advisor to owners and senior managers of print and graphics communications companies, I'm often asked how we come up with an offer. In other words, how does a business valuation translate into "price" and "structure" in the... Continue reading

We're almost half-way through calendar year 2012 and it seems like as good a time as any to share a few observations from the intersection of printing, M&A, and debt restructuring: 1. We've seen a few recent M&A transactions that... Continue reading

Owners/senior managers of printing and graphics communications companies who are serious about growth by strategic acquisition have become accustomed to evaluating M&A opportunities and working through the nuances of the process, but, as entrepreneurs, who are often Type A personalities,... Continue reading

The name of the distressed printing company owner who contacted me today is withheld for obvious reasons, but I am sharing this communication so that countless other owners of highly-leveraged print and graphics communications companies can recognize that it's never... Continue reading

If you are considering an acquisition of a print and graphics communications company as a "going concern", here are 10 Success Factors to evaluate: Profitable without regard to consolidation savings Business does not revolve around the owner-entrepreneur "Transaction Ready" financial... Continue reading

If your receivables are stretching out you aren’t alone. The figure below tracks receivables days outstanding for 24 NAPL Performance Indicators participants on a three-month moving average. Through most of 2008 receivables fell nicely, with the three-month average dropping from 51.1 days in January to 45.7 days in June and to 42.5 days in October. But all that changed when the recession deepened dramatically last fall. By the end of November receivables were back up to 44.9 days. And by the end of December they were up to 45.9 days. What do we do? Susan Rausch, director of corporate credit... Continue reading

Understand that Trust and Comfort are HUGE Maintain ethical reputation Preach financial stability Remember being a “White Knight” does not mean “bailout” Live with confidentiality Explore M&A efficiently Walk the line between “open & honest” and “being too blunt” Provide... Continue reading

When any two of the following three persons express concern about your company’s financial statements: banker; outside CPA; the person who pays your bills. When you are approached with a legitimate expression of interest from a strategically compatible company who... Continue reading

The owner of XYZ Co hears of a distressed competitor. He/she thinks that this could be a good opportunity to add customers and sales persons without much investment. Initial dialogue among principals seems promising. The seller is in a financial... Continue reading

Two truisms are increasingly facing each other as the printing and graphics industry continues to consolidate: 1. An axiom of M&A and corporate law is that creditors must be satisfied before selling shareholders receive proceeds for the sale. 2. Value... Continue reading

At NAPL, our business advisory practice resides at the cross-current of 3 huge drivers of change: the fundamental redefinition of the print and graphics communications industry; the M&A consolidation trend that involves long term redistribution of market share to the... Continue reading

Many years ago, my grandfather (for whom I am named) owned a barber shop in North Arlington, New Jersey. It was a very busy place, 4 full-time barbers and still a wait, especially on Saturdays. When I would visit there for my once-a-month haircut, one of the barbers, named Ray, would always greet me the same way: “Hey, Joe, what do you know?” I was reminded of that experience recently as I was having a conversation with a printing industry salesperson. We were involved in a coaching/goal setting discussion and we started to talk about his experiences. It seems that... Continue reading

Consolidation in the print and graphics communications industry has not yet experienced significant foreign investment by acquirers into the domestic USA marketplace. One could argue that the fundamental changes affecting our industry do not support a safe investment by foreigners.... Continue reading