Berenson Minella

BY ERIK CAGLE Who can forget 1998 and 1999? Those were easily the salad days of merger and acquisition in the commercial printing industry. The dotcom craze was sweeping across all U.S. industries, with venture capitalists seeking new avenues into the printing segment. Wall Street coveted this largely fragmented industry, and a wave of new kids on the block, consolidators, embarked on the IPO-and-roll-up philosophy. Roughly a half-dozen of these consolidators vied for the growing number of printing companies looking to become cogs in much larger machines, seeking either payola or the benefits from the economies of scale. The national economy was a well-oiled

NEW YORK—The reports of M&A's demise do appear to be exaggerated. St. Ives plc of London, a European print leader with American divisions in Cleveland and Hollywood, FL, announced it has acquired the outstanding common stock of Avanti Press and its subsidiary, the Case-Hoyt Corp., for a cash consideration of $42 million. The deal was expected to be completed February 1. They also are refinancing the company's indebtedness. Avanti/Case-Hoyt operates from manufacturing locations based in Rochester, NY, and Miami. Known as a printer of high-quality brochures and catalogs, the companies serve the retail, cruise line, commercial and automotive markets, as well as annual reports. Additionally, Avanti/Case-Hoyt offers

More Blogs