Industry Consolidation -- A Quiet Buyer's Market

“If you look at public stocks, and what the public stocks and printing industry are trading at as a multiple, they can’t do deals that aren’t going to be accretive to earnings. (Publics) can’t pay six times the multiple when they’re only trading at four times.”

Even if the current environment makes for a buyer’s market, not many deals are being closed. James Cohen, executive vice president of mergers and acquisitions for M&A powerhouse Consolidated Graphics (CGX), is seeing a tremendous amount of activity, but little consummation. The reasons: lack of financing for many buyers (not a problem for CGX, according to Cohen) and caution being exercised by buyers concerned that prospective acquirees could deteriorate as the recession deepens.