Sells Printing

It would be presumptuous to say that M&A activity, across the board, has taken a hit. There has been a fair amount of activity near the $5 million to $15 million range, situations where unions have taken place due to the complementary nature of their products and services, while others have forged working relationships in order to cross-sell off each other's platform. But what isn't receiving much attention—or ink—is the phantom tuck-in, simply because many companies just aren't trumpeting asset purchases.

It's hard to believe that this marks the 29th anniversary of our annual Printing Impressions 400 list of the largest printers in the United States and Canada ranked by annual sales. The consolidation trend has intensified, albeit more from the result of shrinking print markets coupled with the economic fallout from the Great Recession.