Business Management - M&A

St. Joseph Communications has acquired Bassett Direct, a provider of direct marketing services and variable printing programs.

IBS Direct will merge with Maestro Managed Print Solutions. The IBS Direct brand name will remain, with the Maestro brand renamed.

The sale of a company can’t proceed until the owner has a good handle on value, and many of our conversations about establishing it naturally are with clients who are taking their first steps toward selling. But, we also urge clients who aren’t in selling mode to conduct valuation as a strategic exercise for sound financial management.

Transcontinental Inc. has made its first flexible packaging acquisition in Canada, Flexstar Packaging.

For many years, I had the privilege of serving in leadership positions with Printing Industries of New England (PINE), the largest printing trade association in the Northeast. Then as now, I was greatly impressed by the resiliency of our members and their ability to adapt to changing business circumstances.

First Impression Printing of Ann Arbor, Mich., has been acquired by Print-Tech Inc., also of Ann Arbor. In addition, two new employees have joined Print-Tech from First Impression — Teena Weaver and Kathy Samuels — bringing Print-Tech's employee base to 24.

HP doubled down on the small-format distributed printing device market, acquiring Samsung’s printer division.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded Xerox a 10-year, $110M contract for managed print services across all of its agencies.

Bruce Irvine, owner of Atlanta-based Proforma Irvine Group, plans to more than double his business next year.

Flint Group has acquired Printec Industries, a manufacturer and provider of water-based inks for flexo and gravure applications.