Blue Star is working on its first acquisition of 2015, agreeing to take over award-winning Sydney screen printer Thompsons Print and Display in a bid to expand its growing wide format division.
The acquisition will add screen printing capability to Blue Star’s Padstow site, which had been limited to offset and digital following the takeover of STI Lilyfield last year.
The deal includes a four colour Screen printer and two diecutters, along with ‘a significant number’ of staff making the move to Blue Star.
Staff transferring include managing director Tony Kent who will look after Thompsons clients in a senior sales and account management role under general manager Guy Watson.
Blue Star chief operating officer Matt Aitken says the acquisition is part of the company’s ongoing growth strategy to create a formidable wide format offering for retailers and marketers.
“Thompson is highly regarded within the industry, with a strong reputation for quality, innovation and service,” he says.
“We look forward to having Tony and his team join Blue Star and are excited about the enhanced value proposition the Thompson acquisition creates for all customers.”
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Kent says selling to Blue Star gives the 29-year-old business more growth potential than if it continued on its own and is a good fit as the two companies are in different parts of the market.
“I see our future being with Blue Star as it will bring everything under one roof as a full-service operation,” he says.
“It opens huge doors for us and will allow our clients to get more services for a cheaper price than we could give them, and give me and my staff opportunities outside screen printing which we were limited to.”
Kent says he intends to stay at Blue Star long term and thinks the wide format market will improve as printers like Blue Star are well placed to compete with overseas businesses and bring work back onshore.
Thompsons is the winner of three gold Point-of-Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) awards in three different categories.
Aitken says Blue Star is on the lookout for more wide format printers to buy up as it invests heavily into the growth market and pursues its aggressive growth by acquisition strategy.
“Blue Star will continue to invest heavily in this area over the coming year through significant additional investment in its digital point of sale production platforms and further potential acquisitions,” he says.
“Our strategy will continue to focus on the growth and expansion of the services offering we take to market in this space.”
The two companies have signed a heads of agreement and expect to finalise the deal on February 27. It follows IPMG’s partnership with SEMA in December, which is seen as a prelude to future acquisition.
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