Industry M&A Activity : Deals Are in Full Bloom

“It is true that some companies are too far gone and cannot be saved; the ‘walking dead.’ We’ve looked at a lot of those over the last year,” Cohen adds. “These are the companies that will shut down with greater frequency over the next couple of years, or merge with another distressed printer.”

As with Cronin and Hyde, Cohen believes the next 12 months will see a diverse mixture of acquisitions and, sadly, the continued trend of contraction by those unable to improve their financial results or secure dance partners. “The contraction will continue for at least another couple of years as lenders wake up to the reality that some problems will not get better with time,” he says, and fewer distressed deals may occur as companies decide the risk is too great for the rather limited upside.