Market Watch October 2014 – acquisitions, mergers & major equipment sales
Richard Rasmussen, director of Ascent Partners, posts his monthly analysis in what made industry news – mergers, acquisitions, business sales and closures, as well as the latest major sales and installations of capital equipment.
Running digital technology does not guarantee success, in fact, it’s starting to look decidedly dodgy. Last week on the same day in the same suburb, Port Melbourne, Victoria, two major digital players went down.
The first was the biggest digital printer in the land, Bruce Peddlesen’s OnDemand. He went straight into liquidation, having previously sold the license to trade as On Demand to local print identities. How that pans out with creditors will very closely watched by the industry. On the same day, not more than a couple of hundred meters away, Sumo Visual, a sign and display wide-format digital printer went into voluntary liquidation. This caused more than a few frowns of puzzlement as the industry reckoned that part of the market is solid gold, especially if a large US-based multi-national is backing you.
Combined these businesses would have turned over $30 million plus, predominantly of digital print. That’s a big chunk of print in anybody’s language. As Victoria is still coming back from it’s annual four-day Melbourne Cup long weekend, we’ll have to wait to see who are the winners and who are the losers.
OCA Group’s appetite for acquisition shows no signs of abating with its purchase of trade binder, The Bindery, reportedly the biggest in the land. Clearly this actions supports OCA’s managing director, Naresh Gulati’s recent statement of wanting to offer complete trade services to the industry.
Still in Victoria we saw troubled GWPM, a large print management firm, selling its client list and assets, not debts, to Vertical who have a similar business.
In NSW Shoalhaven Commercial Printers and trade supplier TLC fell into liquidation.
In QLD mergers were the order of the month - Dynamic Print Communication and Pure Print together moved to a new location in Molendinar. Both business were recently acquired by the purchaser of Focus Press, NSW, Mark Shergill. Inhouse Print and Design and Queensland Posters also merged.
Finally in Queensland, fast growing packaging printer, Zacpack has invested $25 Million in a new plant in Stappylton, near the Gold Coast.
Investments are ongoing
On the equipment sale and installation scene we saw Creffield Digital (VIC) and Gold Leaf framing (NSW) install a Canon C800 and C700 Digital presses respectively.
Satellite Digital (NSW) installed a new HP Indigo 7000 press and Cheque-Mates installed a Fuji Xerox C800 press.
On the wide format side, Prints Alive (SA) installed a FujiFilm Acuity 1600 LED and Printbound (VIC), part of the OCA Group, a Spicers suppled Vutek GX 3250 LX Pro.
On the supply side
Pick ups and takeovers continue to focus the market. Neopost picked up Anitech to reinforce its address to the wide-format market.
Also in NSW and in wide format, Starleaton took on Ian Cleary’s Adkote to widen its substrate offerings.
Across the Tasman Spicers took over Total Supply to gain even more market profile.
More details on last month’s happenings can be found on the Ascent Partners Market watch web site page, see www.ascentpartners.com.au for more details and free subscription.
Due to recent sales successes, Ascent Partners currently have only a couple of print related businesses on the market. More are required around the nation, especially digital and client bases. Contact Richard at richard@ascentpartners.com.au for a confidential discussion.