M&A Activity -- Expect a Surge in Mergers

More Local Mergers Out of "Necessity"

Small, privately held local and regional printing companies will begin to merge at an unprecedented pace. This phenomenon was spurred by the 2000-2002 weak economy coupled with the tragedy of 9/11, which devastated the balance sheets and income statements of thousands of smaller printers. These deals truly shrink capacity because they usually involve larger and better financed companies acquiring the sales and selected assets of smaller and weaker competitors, whose plants will be shut down and whose equipment will be mothballed or sold abroad.