Is It Just Me, or Is It Getting Warm Around Here?
You can feel it: spring finally has sprung after a winter that seemed endless. The snow and the ice are vanishing, and from what I’m seeing, so is the chilling effect that has slowed the pace of print industry mergers and acquisitions (M&As) over the last several years.
Calling the M&A market “hot to trot” would be an exaggeration at this point, but there are good reasons to think that fewer players are suffering from cold feet. Interest in transactions is picking up. Banks are more open to proposals for funding M&As. The gap between the prices sellers want and those that buyers will pay is closing. This is the thaw that dealmakers have been waiting for since the recession of 2008-2009 nearly froze M&A activity in place.
James A. Russell, partner at New Direction Partners, brings over 20 years of experience as a printing company executive having served as CEO of two family-owned graphic communication companies. During his tenure as owner and CEO of Arbor Press, a commercial printing company in Michigan, the company was an eight-time winner of the National Association for Printing Leadership’s (NAPL) prestigious Management Plus Awards program. Arbor Press was also recognized twice during his leadership as one of the 50 fastest growing printers in the country. Contact him at (610) 230-0635, ext. 703.
