M&A REPORT -- New Era of Consolidation

DeWese also expects M&A action to increase in the second half of 2002. "We'll begin to see a pickup at relatively low multiples for average companies, multiples on the order of four times normalized EBITDA for rank-and-file, $10 to $20 million companies," DeWese says. "Most of the activity will be taking place in the commercial printing segment, labels and direct mail, with some of the bigger buyers announcing one or two big deals. Moore is already back with a big acquisition. The publicity associated with the bigger deals helps fuel smaller deals."