Some if not most of Australia’s biggest print groups are currently actively seeking to acquire existing print businesses as they look to grow market share or diversify in a static market.
PMP, Immij and Blue Star are among the leading printers that have all told ProPrint that they are searching for print businesses to add to their portfolio and integrate into their businesses.
It has been a long while since PMP bought a business but the company has now switched its radar on, although CEO Peter George says that while there were some recent talks with another company they were suspended, and while he would like to acquire a business opportunities are limited, he has nothing imminent in his sights. George is pursuing a core products strategy that would prevent PMP from diversifying.
Blue Star is keen on bolstering its Victorian presence, and is actively seeking a print business in Melbourne. The company has a successful record of buying and integrating businesses, both similar and diverse. On June 30 last year it was not in the wide format business, little more than a year later it is on track to achieve a $50m-$60m turnover in wide format thanks to integrating several wide format acquisitions including STI Lilyfield and Thomson, which puts it among the wide format industry leaders.
Immij yesterday appointed former Visy, Amcor and PMP exec Scott Hillberg to succeed Michael Smithe as CEO, and part of his brief is to source acquisitions in new areas. Immij acquired a horticultural label printer Macbird Floraprint four years ago.
For printers the appeal of acquisition is the immediate set of new customers it provides, and taking out rival capacity as invariably the kit is sold off if the acquisition is in a similar field, or the possibility to enter entirely new markets but with a fully functioning and staffed operation, as in the case of Blue Star with wide format or Immij with labels.
Some industry pundits predict a dramatic reduction in the number of traditional print manufacturers in the years to come, thanks to on the one hand the bigger groups acquiring smaller printers, or indeed each other, and on the other hand the rise of online trade printing enabling smaller printers to concentrate on sales eliminating the need to invest in their own manufacturing facilities, with all the costs and risks that involves. Printers are also entering partnerships, such as that recently developed between Evolve, which has now moved completely out of print manufacturing, and Lindsay Yates, which now provides all Evolve’s printing.
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