Awards July 14, 2015
Will Mergers & Acquisitions Become More Common in the Ad Specialty Industry?
Steve Levschuk Talbot (asi/341500) “Companies that don’t have the resources for infrastructure upgrades will find great advantages in aligning with companies that do.”
Justin Zavadil ASB (asi/120075) “Acquisitions will always be a major part of larger distributors’ growth strategies. I don’t see that changing in the near future.”
Norm Hullinger alphabroder (asi/34063) “Yes, increased margin pressure will cause both suppliers and distributors to seek ways to add service while holding the line on expenses.”
Bill Korowitz Magnet (asi/68507) “Acquisitions take a tremendous amount of time and energy. Many companies don’t have the people to physically and mentally pull off the bigger deals.”
David Woods AIA (asi/109480) “There has been a great deal of consolidation over the past 25 years and it will continue. The overwhelming trend will be towards larger and very well capitalized companies.”
Paul Lage Gill Studios (asi/56950) “As barriers to success get higher because of regulations, product safety costs and a prolonged stagnant economy, it’s a natural business process to consolidate.”
M&A Activity Soars In 2015
- U.S. mergers and acquisitions have increased by 48% so far in 2015, with deals totaling $902.2 billion in Q1 alone.
- The technology, finance and consumer services sectors have produced the most M&A activity this year.
- The most significant 2015 acquisition in the industry was when Staples Inc., agreed to purchase Accolade Promotion Group.
- Analysts expect 22,000 corporate transactions will be finalized in 2015, making it the most active year for M&A since 2007.
Larry Page, CEO of Google, has overseen nearly 50 acquisitions by his firm in the last 18 months, closing deals with Nest, Titan Aerospace and mobile payments company Softcard.