Times have changed for those printers who wish to sell their business. Expectations do not often meet with reality, and it’s sobering and disappointing experience for many.
There has been a fair bit of trade press recently promoting the dos and don’ts, rights, wrongs and how tos of buying and selling printing businesses. Seeing the amount of action in this area and the knock0on effects of financing a business acquisition, it is work looking at some lateral or real situations rather than follow the academic or times earnings philosophies.
The fact of the matter is that the boom days in the printing industry extended through the 1980s, when the baby boomer generation found it reasonably easy to purchase equipment and get started in their own business. It goes without saying this generation is now in its 50s to 60s, and admit it or not, desperately seeking to start or implement an exit strategy to embark upon the less stressful vocation of retirement.
In additional to the aforementioned group, there are also numerous businesses that are simply not trading profitably, from which the owners wish to sell or merge in order to exist or retire while they still have the shirt on their back.
Some typical scenarios include the fellow slowly going broke who sold to a co-existent inhibitor of a niche market. He got out for the market value of his equipment.
There are enthusiastic young companies who are actively seeking to build their own sales and profits through the going concern acquisition of another business. Usually retaining key staff and rationalising the plant of either or both businesses, thus assisting to finance the acquisition.
The plain truth is that equipment values decline and pricing pressures within the industry continue to diminish any discounted cash flow method. The majority of business cards company for sale have aging equipment, even if the youngest press is only five years old today.