At the end of August, the Target Report focuses on M&A activity in the print-centric business segments over the past 12 months. This edition also includes the prior four years to provide a visual bridge over the pandemic period. Here is a snapshot of the biggest deal activity trends taking place in the industry.
Viewed from the perspective of M&A activity in the printing, packaging and related graphic communication industries, the pandemic is fading quickly into the rearview mirror, and most printing and packaging businesses are doing well. However, there are some ripples on the water. Deal counts are down, bankruptcies and non-bankruptcy closures have ticked up in the past six months, and the impact of higher interest rates is rolling in. Packaging is still the most active segment but has cooled down considerably. The commercial print, direct mail, and wide format segments are not as active, but desirable candidates still attract a number of suitors and deals are getting done; and more…
Deal activity fell off a cliff in April. The sudden drop off begs the question: Are we heading into deeper turbulent waters? While it is too soon to tell, we do know for a fact that deal activity in April was the lowest we have logged in more than ten years of tracking the market.