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Last year saw the fewest number of dealers that were bought by other dealers since before 2015. Coming out of 2022, when acquisitions had increased for three straight years, I felt strongly that the streak would continue—yeah, way off base. While we were getting further away from the outset of COVID-19 as well as any supply chain issues, inflation rose like a grizzly on its hind legs and roared. The market was bearish and, I’d be willing to bet, many prospective deals were put on hold.
Mega dealers remained active but did not necessarily dominate. Marco led the pack with four acquisitions, all of them helping to push the company into the Northeast. UBEO made one purchase, then made its first of 2024 in early January, a move that takes it into the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Novatech-Carolina Business Equipment transaction was interesting from a managed IT services perspective. Meanwhile, Flex Technology completed the largest dealer-dealer acquisition in 2023.
So, money was tight last year, or seemingly so. Still, as usual, the lion’s share of acquisitions fell in the <$5 million range, which I equate to buying up competition, buying more print volume to remedy lost pages, and/or buying into a brand or a geography. But when I really think about it, the theory I like most is that dealers are investing their money elsewhere—on diversification strategies, not on print.
Even if that statement is true, I’d be foolish to not call for more dealer-dealer acquisitions in 2024 than last year. Doesn’t seem difficult, but let’s see what happens.
Infographic designed by Mark DiMattei, Managing Editor at Keypoint Intelligence. Click here for last year’s edition of this infographic.
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