Business Management - M&A

What’s My Motivation?
July 11, 2014

What determines your strategy for an acquisition? There are as many situation-specific answers as there are printing companies, but our buying clients at New Direction Partners usually have one or more of the following objectives in mind. Some are more relevant to tuck-ins (where only customer accounts are acquired) than to sales as going concerns, and vice versa. But, they’re all good examples of good reasons to proceed.

Business Plans: SOP for M&As
June 27, 2014

It’s possible to muddle along without a written business plan, and unfortunately, that’s what many printing companies do. But, at the M&A stage—a stage that New Direction Partners believes all printing companies will reach eventually—the absence of a business plan makes it all but impossible to move forward with a deal.

AmeriLam Is Named Exclusive North American Provider of GMP Specialty Laminating Equipment
June 16, 2014

AmeriLam Supply Group has been chosen as the exclusive provider of GMP specialty laminating equipment in North America. GMP, headquartered in South Korea, produces premium laminate films, new laminating methods and systems, and print finishing techniques. "We’re thrilled to be chosen by an international leader like GMP," said Steve Truan, ASG’s sales manager.

Pride, and Why Dealmakers Shouldn’t Give Into It
June 13, 2014

There are plenty of good things to say about pride. After all, it’s one of the noble impulses that gets us out of bed in the morning and motivates us to do the best job we can for our customers, employees, and others who depend on us. But when it makes anyone resist the idea that today, every print company owner should be preparing either to acquire or to be acquired, it becomes something else. Steer clear of the trap it can set for your business when your moment of truth arrives.

Reilly/Schaefer on M&A Directions: A Question of Business Values
June 1, 2014

As we discussed in the first installment of this series, the pace of mergers and acquisitions among printing and packaging firms finally is on the rise after years of languishing in the doldrums. That means there's heightened interest in finding out what companies are worth and in determining what kinds of deals can be structured around these valuations.

Trust and Transparency: the T&T of M&A
May 23, 2014

In M&As, good faith is everything, and it begins with your everyday outreach to the people who work for you. Keep on finding opportunities to let them know that you value their contributions and that you have their backs today and in the long term. That way, when the time comes to share your plans with the workforce as a whole, the things you’ll want to say most will go without saying.

New Direction Partners, Printing Impressions Group Team Up on Educational Series
May 23, 2014

New Direction Partners, the leading M&A advisory firm serving the printing and packaging industries, and North American Publishing Co.’s Printing Impressions Group, which comprises Printing Impressions, packagePrinting and In-plant Graphics brands, have announced a new, multi-channel partnership to educate print professionals about the current industry M&A landscape, as well as to serve as a conduit for specific transaction opportunities.

More on M&A on Steroids
May 14, 2014

In the last blog, I talked about the “Deadly Law of Inflation” and the toll it has taken on our industry. In my opinion, it has also caused merger and acquisition activity to accelerate as though on steroids. The following list identifies the top 10 needs to ensure a successful purchase/sale and transition.