Gregg Feinstein

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

MONTREAL—Roughly 18 months after it shocked the commercial printing industry by announcing it had merged with World Color, the world's largest printer returned to the merger and acquisition landscape with a vengeance. Quebecor World announced that it has acquired Retail Printing, a large, privately held, East Coast printer. Quebecor World has inked a definitive agreement to purchase the Taunton, MA-based printer of retail inserts that was scheduled to be completed in July. Retail Printing, which also operates a plant in Nashville, TN, and employs 400 total, boasts annual sales of nearly $100 million. The move augments Quebecor World's ability to provide both long-run

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

HOUSTON—The heat of midsummer seemed to have slowed the ongoing acquisition fever in the graphic arts business, but as summer winds down and executives return from vacation, a new spate of acquisition announcements has arrived. Consolidated Graphics, based here, led the pack, signing letters of intent to acquire five new companies. Four of the new acquisitions—McKay Press in Midland, MI, Royle Communications in Sun Prairie, WI, Graphtec in Annapolis Junction, MD, and Printing Corp. of America in Baltimore— were acquired in one transaction led by Radnor, PA-based Compass Capital Partners. Only days later Consolidated signed another deal to acquire Bloomington, IL-based Metropolitan Printing Service. Upon